CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

OF 

BROWN UNIVERSITY, 

1864. 









2^/ 



PROVIDENCE: 

SIDNEY s. RIDER & BRO. 

1 8 (i 5 . 



CELEBRATION 



ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY 



OF THE FOUNDING 



OF 



BROWN UNIVERSITY, 



SEPTEMBER 6th, 1864. 



PROVIDENCE: 

SIDNEY S. RIDER & BRO. 
1865. 



^ 



u>> 



KNOWLES, ANTHONY & CO., EB1NTEES, 
PBOVIDENCE, E. I. 






HISTORICAL DISCOURSE 



BARNAS SEARS, D. D., 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY. 

WITH AN APPENDIX 

CONTAINING ILLUSTRATIVE HISTORICAL NOTES, LETTERS, 

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, EXTRACTS FROM RECORDS 

OF THE CORPORATION, ETC. 



PREFACE. 



It is but <in imperfect history of an Institution of Learning during a cen- 
tury, that can be presented in a single discourse. Topics which had been 
disposed of by others, on former occasions, have therefore been intentionally 
omitted. It so happened that the earlier history of the College still remained 
in great obscurity, and yet that abundant materials for illustrating it had 
recently been collected in the College Library. In these circumstances, 
it seemed fitting, on the occasion of a centennial celebration, to present a 
connected view of the origin of the College, of its growth, and so much of 
its early history as the limited time allotted to the exercise would allow. 
Accordingly, the first three presidencies— those of Manning, Maxcy, and 
Messer — were chosen as the subject of discourse. Other important and 
interesting topics, such as the characters and services of the venerable 
founders and of the chief benefactor of the College ; of the more active men 
of the Corporation; of the prominent members of the successive Faculties 
of instruction, and of distinguished graduates, as well as the courses of in- 
struction and modes of discipline, could receive but little attention. 

The work of selecting and arranging the papers relating to President 
Manning's administration was greatly facilitated by the care which Mr. 
R. A. Guild, the Librarian, had bestowed upon them, in preparing his ex- 
cellent Life and Times of Manning, published about the time that the ad- 
dress, or rather the major part of it, was delivered. To him, in a great 
degree, is the public indebted for the collection and preservation of the 
" Manning Papers." 

The Diaries, Letters, and other manuscript papers left by Dr. Stiles were 
not seen by the writer, till after the discourse was pronounced, when, by 
the courtesy of the President and the Librarian of Yale College, they were 
thrown open to his inspection, and those parts of them relating to Brown 
University kindly pointed out. The effect of. the perusal of this rich col- 
lection of manuscript volumes has been to modify some of the statements 
in the discourse relating to a certain passage in the Life of Dr. Stiles, by 
the late Professor Kingslev. Justice to the memory of that excellent 
man, required such modification. 

For the copious extracts made in the Appendix from the Correspondence 
of President Manning, from the Records of the Corporation, and from 
other early documents, no apology will be required by the lovers of history. 

B. SEARS. 

Brown University, Dec. 1, 1864. 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 



"With this day closes the first century of the history of 
our University. When the sun shall have risen once more 
upon us, it will be just one hundred years since the corpora- 
tion held its first meeting under the charter. 

The founding of the College of Rhode Island was an im- 
portant event ; — important to the Christian denomination 
which originated it, constituting an era in its history by giving 
it an educated ministry ; important to the State of Rhode 
Island, which is indebted to it for many of her ablest jurists, 
wisest statesmen and most eloquent divines ; important to 
the country, as inaugurating a new order of things in 
American colleges, performing for them the office which the 
State had performed for the other States, that of presenting 
the best and purest example of entire religious liberty. 

In contemplating the interests of society, there is, at all 
times, but more particularly in times like the present, great 
danger of fixing our attention upon external acts and events, 
and overlooking those silent but powerful internal agencies 
which are operating at the foundations of our whole social 
system. Though public men do not constitute the basis of 
society they work its vast machinery, and repair it, when it 
is out of order ; and these regulators of society, in the 
ordinary course of things acquire both their strength and the 
skill to wield it, in the literary institutions where they are 
educated. 



2 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

The men of one generation know the village boy, and see 
him often among his comrades, observing nothing remarkable 
in his case, except that at a certain period when he is nearly 
grown up, he disappears ; and they are informed that he is 
put to learning, and sent successively to the academy, the 
college, and the professional school. 

The men of the next generation know the eminent public 
man, and look up to him as a superior kind of being, raised 
up by Providence to guard and promote some of the most 
cherished and sacred interests of society. They eagerly 
treasure up and rehearse the incidents of his childhood and 
youth, and attribute to them a sort of mysterious influence 
over his later life. But true observers look elsewhere for 
the causes of this wonderful transformation. They know 
that his mind, naturally vigorous and inquisitive, has been 
lifted out of the scenes of common life into a higher world 
of thought, commanding the past and the present, and look- 
ing into the future ; that here his powers are stretched to 
their utmost tension, opening to receive the broadest univer- 
sal truths, and bending all its energies and applying all its 
acumen to discover their relations to each other and to par- 
ticular truths and facts ; and that to such Herculean tasks, 
habitually performed till they become easy, more than to 
any happy stroke of fortune, are they indebted for becoming 
what they are. 

Herein lies the philosophy of a university education ; and 
to this view agree all the facts of experience and observation. 

Nothing is more certain in history than that New England 
would not have been what she is but for the New England 
colleges ; or that the English people and their government 
and institutions would not have been what they are, but for 
the universities of Oxford and Cambridge ; or that Saxony 
and Switzerland would not have moulded the religious sen- 
timents, and given form to the worship and church polity of 
half of Europe, but for the universities of Wittenberg and 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. d 

Geneva. And what a power, at this day, Is the university 
of Berlin to the kingdom of Prussia ; and that of Munich 
to the kingdom of Bavaria ! 

The liberal education given in our New England colleges 
is the great regulator of our whole system of education. 
Being chiefly disciplinary, and aiming to give the greatest 
perfection to the mind as such, without reference to any par- 
ticular calling or profession, it gives strength and generous 
culture to men preparing for professional life, and renders the 
existence of the learned professions possible. Its salutary in- 
fluence upon all the lower schools, whether public or private, 
though less obvious, is no less certain. It acts immediately 
upon those next below the college, and through them mediately 
upon all the others. If any government or peoj)le, therefore, 
overlook or undervalue a system of collegiate education, a 
lower state of civilization, and instability and insecurity in 
public and social life, will be the inevitable consequence. 

Besides those features which are common to all well con- 
ducted American colleges, there are others which are pecu- 
liar to each ; and it is well that it is so. The sons or 
daughters of a family are none the less useful or interesting 
from the circumstance that, along with a general family like- 
ness, they have a marked individuality of character and 
appearance. Colleges are not, nor should they be, repeti- 
tions of each other. Each was the offspring of peculiar 
wants ; was nursed in its infancy under peculiar circum- 
stances ; and consequently has a development of character, 
a mode of action, a kind of patronage, and a sphere of influ- 
ence all its own. 

One may share largely in the bounty of the State ; another 
depend on private bounty. One may be nestled in the 
bosom of a great metropolis, whose princely merchants 
lavish upon it their gifts ; another may be situated among 
the hills, far in the interior, surrounded by a hardy yeomanry. 
One may be almost exclusively the nursery and the literary 



4 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

centre of a particular church, — a church that educates 
nearly all her own sons, and but few besides ; another may- 
be secular in its character, subserving the interests of a city, 
community, or state, in a utilitarian point of view. Another 
still may unite the distinctively religious and the secular ele- 
ments under the double control of a church represented by 
its clergy, and of the state represented by its public officers ; 
while a third may rest upon a foundation formed by the union 
of different Christian denominations, with a given distribu- 
tion of power and authority. 

Now who shall say that all these classes of colleges are 
not needed ? Or that this diversity in their character is 
injurious to the interests of education ? If they are not mul- 
tiplied beyond the actual demand, preventing proper con- 
centration of power, their diversities, by supplying peculiar 
wants, will obviously be an advantage. 

What probably is true of most of the colleges, as to the 
peculiar circumstances justifying their existence, is preemi- 
nently true of Brown University. There was a preparation 
for it in the events which preceded it, just as clearly as there 
is a preparation in nature for a blossom on its stem. In 
order to present the evidence of this completely, it will be 
necessary to bring several distinct topics within our observa- 
tion. 

In giving a true picture of the times, we shall be obliged 
to touch upon subjects that were then in controversy. The 
Baptists and CongregationalistS' of that period did not stand 
related to each other as do their successors and representa- 
tives of the present day. They differed materially on the 
subjects of experimental religion, ministerial education and 
liberty of conscience ; on none of these points is there any 
perceptible difference now. In respect to personal piety and 
religious liberty, the CongregationalistS have approximated 
to the Baptists ; in respect to ministerial education, the Bap- 
tists to the CongregationalistS. 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 6 

Our present interest, therefore, in these subjects, is not 
controversial, but purely historical. If occasionally we find a 
little sharpness of expression, even in such excellent men as 
Dr. Stiles and President Manning, we ought not to be 
surprised. Least of all will such things disturb us, or excite 
our passions, at this distance of time and in such altered cir- 
cumstances. Were we to avoid such topics as uninviting, 
we should fail to comprehend the spirit of the century which 
gave birth to our University 

It will be our duty to correct many misapprehensions, 
and, in some instances, to vindicate the honor of the founders 
of the college, which, from ignorance, we may believe, has 
been unjustly assailed. 

The relations of Roger Williams to the religious party 
he left behind him in Massachusetts, may be regarded as 
indicating, with tolerable accuracy, the relations subsisting 
between the Baptists and the Congregation alists of New 
England in the 18th century. Time had, indeed, somewhat 
softened the asperities of the preceding century ; but the an- 
tagonism of principles remained the same. 

As the New England colleges were the bulwarks of the 
church, it is to them that we are to look for the ecclesiastical 
spirit of the times. 

At the middle of the last century, there were but two col- 
leges in New England, the one at Cambridge, the other at 
New Haven. Both were exclusively under the government 
of the Congregationalists, and wholly devoted to the main- 
tenance and advocaty of their creed and church polity. 
Both colleges were founded by good men ; and nobly 
have these venerable, and now magnificent, seats of learning 
answered the purposes of their being. But, by some strange 
fatality, it was not given to those otherwise excellent men, 
to recognize, as do their descendants, the good qualities of 
the Roger Williams Baptists. At any rate, they did not 
extend to this class of men a very cordial welcome, but 
treated them as disorderly brethren, if not as heretics. 



6 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

We have said that one of the points of difference between 
the two parties related to experimental religion. For half a 
century there had been a decline of spirituality in the Con- 
gregational churches. Here let the excellent Dr. Wisner, 
formerly pastor of the Old South Church, Boston, speak for 
Massachustts, and the Eev. Dr. Dutton, of New Haven, 
for Connecticut. " The door," says the former, " having 
been professedly as well as really opened for persons with- 
out piety to enter the church, as a natural consequence, there 
soon ceased to be any let or hindrance to their entering the 
ministry. And there is painful evidence that previous to 
1740, many of this description did enter the ministry." 

The latter says : "In the beginning of the 18th century, 
from 1700 to 1735, we find that religion in New England 
was in a very low condition. It had degenerated into lifeless 
formalism, like a tree whose bark and external form are 
complete, but whose heart and strength have decayed. The 
distinction between those who served God and those who 
served him not, was passing, and had in a great measure 
passed, away." 

The preaching of Whitfield and his associates, which 
commenced in New England in 1740, created a schism in the 
Congregational churches. The smaller number of the 
clergy favored revivals of religion, and the pointed, personal 
style of preaching adopted by the revivalists. But the 
great majority, with the two colleges at their head, opposed 
the whole system. The Baptists, in every place, sympathized 
warmly with the former, being strenuous advocates of ex- 
perimental religion. Indeed, of the many Baptist churches, 
which sprang up in different places at this time, the greater 
part were the immediate fruit of those revivals, and off-shoots 
from the New Light Congregational churches. 

The Baptists of that period repudiated altogether, the 
idea that men, by natural birthright and education, were 
entitled to the privileges of Christian discipleship ; and the 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 7 

further view, consequent upon this, that, for the sacred office 
of the ministry, personal piety was only a desirable qualifi- 
cation, while learning was indispensable. They strenuously 
maintained that the purity and spirituality of the church 
should be guarded, by shutting the door, as far as possible, 
against the admission of unconverted members ; and the min- 
istry, by closing the pulpit against the entrance of men of 
unhallowed feet. It could, therefore, be only with extreme 
reluctance, that they should ever send their candidates for 
the ministry, to those schools of learning where totally op- 
posite views prevailed. 

Both the contending parties held a questionable position 
in regard to ministerial education. Because of the abuse of 
it by the one, in accepting it as a sufficient ministerial quali- 
fication without piety, the other, in the majority of instances, 
went to the other extreme of discarding such education alto- 
gether. But there were men, — and among these were the 
founders and early friends of the College, — who saw this sub- 
ject in its true light. They saw the necessity of avoiding 
the errors of the one party, and of overcoming the prejudices 
of the other. In what other way could their object be so 
well accomplished, as by establishing an institution on their 
own principles, and thus presenting to their brethren the 
means of education, against which there could be no reason- 
able ground of objection ? This is just what our fathers 
attempted to do. While they founded for themselves a col- 
lege, they adhered strictly to their principles in regard to 
piety, as an essential ministerial qualification. On no topic 
did President Manning discourse more clearly and point- 
edly than on the incongruity of one's preaching a gospel, to 
which his own heart is a stranger. To the graduating class of 
1789, he says : " To place in the professional chairs of our 
universities the most illiterate of mankind, would be an ab- 
surdity by far less glaring, than to call an unconverted man 
to exercise the ministerial function." 



8 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

How great the necessity was for establishing a college 
with such an end in view, will appear from the fact, that 
even in England, out of two hundred Baptist ministers, only 
thirty or forty could read the Greek testament, while in 
America, not more than about seven or eight of the pastors 
of the sixty Baptist churches were liberally educated. Dr. 
Stennett said : " The groundless prejudices which have a 
l®ng time prevailed among many good people of our persua- 
sion, will, I hope, in time, subside." 

The Rev. Francis Pelot, an eminent Baptist clergyman 
of South Carolina, on receiving an appointment from the 
College to act as its agent, said, in his letter of acceptance to 
Dr. Manning, (formerly) "I was no great favorer of the in- 
stitution, lest the purity of the Gospel should suffer, as is 
very often the case, by men whose learning was their only 
recommendation for the pulpit." President Manning, at a 
later period, alluding to the success of the College in pro- 
moting the interests of religion and liberty, speaks of it as 
having the effect to make the denomination in general " look 
with a more favorable eye upon literature." 

The founders of the College, lamenting the prevailing 
ignorance produced by such prejudices, and foreseeing the 
result of superior education among their brethren, resolved to 
give to the denomination an institution for which it might 
have a natural predilection, and in which it might take an 
honest pride. The object was legitimate ; the success, com- 
plete. A respectable body of Christians, hitherto, for the 
most part, indifferent to education, instead of remaining in a 
state of obscurity and inefficiency, were induced to embark 
in a great public enterprise for their own improvement and 
for the general good, in which they were to take, not a sub- 
ordinate, but a leading part. Thus they no longer stood as 
suppliants at the doors of others, not knowing whether they 
were to receive generous treatment or not ; but they, held an 
independent and honorable position, well adapted to inspire 
self-respect and confidence. 



CENTENNIAL DISCOUKSE. 9 

In contemplating'the importance of this undertaking, more 
apparent now than it could have been a century ago, we are 
liable to overlook the great difficulty of achieving it under 
the circumstances of the case, which were always depressing, 
and sometimes, 'as in the war, truly appalling. The unre- 
quited labors and the many and great sacrifices of the men 
who cradled this institution in its infancy, and carried it 
through the storms of the Revolution, cannot be too highly 
commended ; and a grateful posterity will be slow to forget 
them. 

In order to understand the origin of the College as con- 
nected with the great struggle of its principal founders for 
religious freedom, we must consider the critical juncture in 
which they were called to act. 

Like the present, it was a time of intense agitation, both 
in Europe and America. By the issue of the contest be- 
tween England and France for India and Canada, the old 
landmarks were removed. England, elated by her territorial 
acquisitions in both hemispheres, began to hold a lordly lan- 
guage toward her American colonies, little adapted to win 
their affections. Both England and France were then blindly 
adding fuel to those volcanic fires which could not be sup- 
pressed by force, and which, when they at length broke forth, 
produced the two great revolutions which marked the close 
of the last century. 

During these disputes between England and her American 
colonies, just one century ago, our fathers broached doctrines 
of liberty, more far-reaching than they themselves appre- 
hended. Great ideas have a logic of their own. They do 
not stop where their first advocates often stop, short of their 
legitimate conclusions, but move steadily on to their ultimate 
consequences. 

The doctrines of liberty, which grew up under oppression, 
not only acquired strength to throw off British authority, 
but what more nearly concerns us now, they shook the foun- 
2L 



10 CENTENNIAL DISCOUKSE. 

dations of that ecclesiastical oppression from which our per- 
secuted fathers suffered so much. 

At the very time when the heralds of civil liberty were 
proclaiming their doctrines throughout all the colonies, 
oppressive ministerial taxes were enforced upon the Baptists, 
and even upon the Baptist ministers of Massachusetts and 
other States, with a rudeness and a wantonness of power, which 
was adapted to render the laws authorizing such acts odious, 
and which actually had the effect of exciting a wide-spread 
indignation. It was in this dark hour of adversity that the 
College was planted, with the express design of unfurling a 
standard of liberty in matters of religion, around which all 
the sons of freedom might rally, and of raising up a class of 
men who could loudly proclaim and ably advocate the prin- 
ciples in which the foundations of the College were laid. 
Here we see an efficient agency working at the right time. 
The course of historical development had brought on the 
period when the public mind was prepared for such an- 
nouncements as the following made by Maxcy : " In propor- 
tion as the civil power has interfered with religion, it has de- 
based and corrupted it. Such is the nature of true religion, 
if it exists at all, it must be free." If the College had done 
no other service that to state with clearness, fullness and pre- 
cision these fundamental, and almost self-evident principles, 
and to lead the way in abolishing religious tests in schools of 
liberal learning, and in excluding all sectarian instruction 
from the course of study, that were honor enough.* What 
other institution in the country, beginning at a time when it 
would be exposed to obloquy, and incur violent opposition, 
has with ecpaal devotion, and for, so long a period, been the 
strenuous advocate of entire liberty of conscience ? Through 
the whole century, these same voices of liberty, like pealing 
bells chiming out their music, have been uttered. From the 
lips of every succeeding President, the refrain begun by 

* Appendix A. 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 11 

Manning has been repeated till the present hour. But 
enough has been said by way of justifying the establishment 
and continued existence of this University. We therefore 
pass to other topics. 

There have been so many misapprehensions and erroneous 
statements touching the origin of the College, and the parties 
engaged in the work, that it becomes necessary to enter into 
particulars on this point. 

A special interest in the education of young men for the 
ministry in the Baptist churches was first manifested in the 
Philadelphia Association. After several measures had been 
taken for encouraging and aiding such young men, a project 
was formed and steadily kept in view, of founding, in some 
one of the colonies, a college for the better accomplishment 
of their object. Inquiry was first made with reference to 
South Carolina, as to its being a convenient and suitable 
place for such a college. The denomination there were com- 
paratively strong, and such men as Hart and Pelot, if once 
embarked in the enterprise, would be efficient agents for 
carrying the design into execution. But after all the ground 
had been carefully surveyed, from Georgia to Massachusetts, 
the conclusion finally reached was, that no colony furnished 
so many and so great facilities as the colony of Rhode Island. 
Here, the denomination was numerous, having a church in 
every town, and numbering, in its communion and among its 
adherents, about two-thirds of the entire population. Here, 
the government was chiefly in the hands of men of liberal 
sentiments and catholic spirit, from whom a charter, reflecting 
the same sentiments and breathing the same spirit, could be 
obtained more easily than elsewhere. And it could not be 
doubted that a college, sustained by such an influence from 
abroad, and planted in such a congenial soil, would prosper 
and not want for patronage and endowments. 

It was with the definite view of carrying out this project, 
that Manning, a young graduate of Princeton College, who 



12 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

had been selected for the purpose, visited Newport, accom- 
panied by his friend, the Rev. John Sutton. The evidence 
of all this is now so plain and so abundant as to need no 
labored argument.* President Manning, who could not be 
mistaken oh this point, after speaking of the dissatisfaction 
of the friends of the College with one feature of the charter, 
as drawn up by Dr. Stiles, and of their determination to 
have a new draft of it made, adds,' " Consequently application 
was made to the Philadelphia Association, where the thing 
took its rise." The Rev. Morgan Edwards was undoubt- 
edly the first projector of the College. Speaking of the 
manner in which the subject, when first named by him, was 
received, he says, "The first mover for it, in 1762, was 
laughed at, as a projector of a thing impracticable." Dr. 
William Rogers says, in his funeral sermon on the death 
of Edwards, " The College of Rhode Island is greatly be- 
holden to him for his 'particular activity in procuring its 
charter." Edwards himself says that Manning " went to 
Rhode Island government and made the design known." 
Backus, the historian, who lived at the time and was 
himself a member of the corporation, corroborates all these 
statements. First, he says, " The Philadelphia Association 
obtained such an acquaintance with our affairs (i. e. those of 
the denomination) as to bring them to an apprehension that 
it was practicable and expedient to erect a college in the 
colony of Rhode Island, under the chief direction of the 
Baptists ; " and in another connection, he completes the 
account in respect to Manning, in these words : " As the 
Philadelphia Association were for erecting a college in Rhode 
Island government, they fixed their eyes upon him as a proper 
leader in the affair." 

Quite a different version of this transaction has been given 
and currently received. It is substantially as follows : A 
young man of catholic spirit, by the name of James Man- 
* See Appendix B. 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 13 

ning, who happened to be a Baptist, came, as a lover and 
promoter of learning, to Rhode Island, to inquire into the 
expediency of founding a seminary of polite learning for the 
education of the young men of the colony. On his arrival 
at Newport, he sought an interview with a few individuals 
of piety and learning, from different Christian denominations, 
and laid before them his plans. At this meeting, in which 
men of different religious creeds and political parties were 
represented, arrangements were made for founding a college 
on the most catholic principles, for their mutual benefit. This 
is a very pleasant piece of romance. J^ part of the evidence 
has already been given ; the rest will appear in the sequel. 

Another representation, equally unfortunate, is found in 
the Life of President Stiles, by the late Prof. Kingsley. 
That excellent man and acute critic was evidently misled by 
statements and allusions in the papers of Dr. Stiles, which, 
for want of a knowledge of the facts alluded to, and others 
which are a key to these, he misunderstood. 

From his account of the origin of Brown University, it 
will be sufficient for our purpose to select the folio win «• 
passages : — 

" At what time, or by whom, the project of a college in 
Rhode Island was started, is matter of doubt." 

" What part of the scheme, so far as perfected, was his, is 
not known." 

" That Mr. Stiles was chiefly employed in the collection 
of facts, on which all proceedings, in an affair of such im- 
portance, were to rest, there is no doubt." 

" To aid in forming some practical scheme for establishing 
the proposed college, Mr. Stiles had instituted an enquiry 
into the number of Congregational, Presbyterian and Baptist 
churches, not only in the colonies, but in Great Britain and 
Ireland." " The probability was, as he estimated it, that the 
Presbyterians and Congregationalists would be able to con- 
tribute four or five times as much as the Baptists ; and that 



14 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

the former, if they were pleased with the thing, might fur- 
nish the greatest number of students." 

" Accordingly, a committee was appointed to draft a char- 
ter of a college ; and of this committee, Mr. Stiles and Mr. 
William Ellery were designated to prepare such an 
instrument for their consideration." 

Tot verba, tot errores, we regret that we are obliged to say. 
He concludes by remarking that Mr. Stiles " would, no 
doubt, have taken part in building up this new institution, 
if he had thought such a course consistent with his duty; nor 
is there reason .to beljeve, if he had lived to see the eminence 
which Brown University has attained, that any of its friends 
and patrons would have more rejoiced in the event." 

The spirit of these observations appears to be kind and 
charitable. But because of the eminent character of the 
writer, and the extensive circulation of his book, it is the 
more necessary to point out its mistakes. 

The facts turn out to be quite different from what he sup- 
posed, and the various points which he regarded as uncertain 
are now settled and rendered certain.* 

A perusal of Manning's correspondence would have led 
to an entirely different conclusion. But his papers were not, 
at that time, known to be in existence. 

Let us now consider, for a moment, in what an unenviable 
light it presents Dr. Manning and his friends. There was, 
according to this view, a project to found a union college in 
which the different denominations should have a part in pro- 
portion to their numbers and strength. Mr. Stiles was 
chiefly employed to collect the facts preparatory to a com- 
mon action, from which it appeared that the greater 
part, both of the funds and of the students, would be fur- 
nished by the Congregationalists. At a meeting of all the 
parties, a co'mmittee, consisting partly of Baptists and partly 
of Congregationalists, is appointed to draft a charter. It is 
* See Appendix C. 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 15 

drawn up by the two Congregational members, and presented 
to the whole committee, and approved. At length, it was 
carried before the legislature with a petition for its adoption. 
But all at once, as it was on the eve of being passed into a 
law, a certain Baptist member discovered that it did not give 
the whole control of the college to his party. An alarm was 
therefore sounded ; the whole party rallied its forces, and, 
after various delays and contests, they succeeded, by a strong 
vote, in changing entirely the basis of the agreement, thereby 
depriving their Congregational brethren of their proper share 
in the government of the college. For this reason, Dr. 
Stiles chose to have no farther connection with the institu- 
tion. 

The belief, expressed by Prof. Kingsley, that none would 
more rejoice in the present prosperity of Brown University 
than Dr. Stiles, were he still among us, is a handsome 
compliment to the living ; but it would have been more 
pleasant to them, if it had not been coupled with a tacit 
reflection upon the founders of the college. 

It is too much like saying, that though there were some 
questionable things about the manner in which Home was 
founded, and furnished with its population, the Romans were 
a very respectable people in the time of the commonwealth. 

With what feelings of astonishment would President 
Manning have listened to such a recital ! What strange 
emotions would have arisen in his manly breast, to see 
himself represented as a party to such a transaction ! 

But the facts are not so. The whole account is founded 
in misapprehension. With the original conception and plan 
of this College, Dr. Stiles and Mr. Ellery had nothing to 
do. There was, on the part of the real originators, no inten- 
tion of founding a college with powers equally divided 
between them and others. There was no preliminary meet- 
ing of men of different denominations. There was no mixed 
committee representing such denominations. Mr. Ellery 



16 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

was not named at all, and Mr. Stiles only as a personal 
friend, to aid the committee, not as a member of it. For- 
tunately, we have President Manning's own clear and 
definite narrative of all these transactions. It runs thus : — 

" In the month of July 1763, we arrived at Newport, and 
made a motion to several gentlemen of the Baptist denomi- 
nation relative to a seminary of polite literature, subject to 
the government of the Baptists. The motion was properly 
attended to, which brought together about fifteen gentlemen 
of the Baptist denomination, at the Deputy's house, who 
requested that I would draw up a sketch of the design against 
the day following. That day came, and the said gentlemen, 
with other Baptists, met in the same place, when a rough 
draft was produced and read. Accordingly, the Honorable 
Josias Lyndon and Colonel Job Bennett were appointed 
to draw a charter ; but the said gentlemen, pleading unskill- 
fulness touching an affair of the kind, requested that their 
trusty friend, Rev. Ezra, now Dr. Stiles, might be solici- 
ted to assist them. This was opposed by me, as unwilling 
to give the Doctor trouble about an affair of other people. 
But they urged that his love of learning and Catholicism 
would induce him readily to give his assistance. Accordingly 
their proposal was consented to, and his assistance obtained.* 

It would hardly have been worth while to notice so par- 
ticularly this mistaken view of the origin of the college, 
were it not that, with the best intentions, great injustice is 
thereby done to its venerable founders. 

The first act under the charter was the meeting of the 
corporation, held at Newport, the first Wednesday in Sep- 
tember, 1764, " for founding," as stated in the records, "and 
endowing a college or university within the colony and 
Providence Plantations." It is from this meeting that we 
date the founding of the College, though the charter was 
granted six months earlier. 

* See Appendix D. 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 17 

The next step taken by the corporation was to seek out a 
place, where, for the time being, a preparatory school might 
be commenced as the embryo of the future College. The 
town of Warren was selected for that purpose, with the 
understanding that young Manning should have opportu- 
nity to preach in connection with his work of instruction. 
Indeed, it was arranged by the friends of the College, on the 
one hand, who had no funds for his support, and by certain 
persons in Warren, on the other, who desired that a church 
might be formed there, that he should remove to that place 
at his earliest convenience, for the double purpose of open- 
ing the Latin School and founding a church. In this way, 
it was hoped he might provide for his own livelihood till the 
corporation should be able to assume his support. 

On the 13th day of April, 1764, immediately after his 
arrival at Newport, he set out for Warren, as the place of 
his destination, to make preparations for the reception of 
of Mrs. Manning, who followed a week after, accompanied 
by their friend, Hezekiah Smith.* 

He immediately commenced preaching, and opened his 
Grammar School ; and in November following formed a 
church, of which he was made pastor. In this humble 
office of village preacher and school teacher, he continued 
for about eighteen months, when, in September, 1765, at the 
second meeting of the corporation, he was elected President. 

The first College class, consisting of three, was formed im- 
mediately after. The first student who entered the College 
was William Rogers, then but fourteen years of age, after- 
wards the Rev. Dr. Rogers, whom others present, as well 
as myself, have heard preach in this place. 

The second year, the President was assisted by a tutor ; 
for, at the close of that year we find this record : " The 
Rev. President Manning's conduct for the year past, and 
his engaging Ml\ David Howell, a tutor of the College, 

* See Appendix E. 

3 



18 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

is approved of." It was certainly a singular felicity enjoyed 
by this first President to have his conduct formally " ap- 
proved of" by a vote of the corporation. If this vote was 
intended to refer particularly to his policy, the corporation 
was determined to make sure work of it ; for, by an addi- 
tional vote, "Mr. Manning was instructed to follow the same 
methods of instruction and government of the College as 
heretofore pursued by him." At any rate, he was well 
indorsed. 

In 1767, the third year after the opening of the College, 
the church in Warren built a parsonage, designed to accom- 
modate the President, his assistant, and the students. The 
corporation voted that <£23 " be paid Mr. Manning, for the 
board of his assistant." It was in this year that the Rev. 
Morgan Edwards was sent abroad as agent to England, to 
solicit funds, in which he was very successful. 

In 1768 the corporation met again in Newport. This was 
the last of the five annual meetings held in that place. At 
this time a committee was appointed to select and recommend 
the most suitable place for the College edifice. 

In 1769 the first Commencement was held. The first 
oration ever pronounced in the College was on " The advan- 
tages of Liberty and Learning," — a good key-note for all 
time to come. Of the first seven graduates, the majority 
became eminent public men. 

The location of the College was now to be fixed, as a 
College edifice was required. Doubtless the great interest 
manifested by the public in the first Commencement served 
to strengthen the desire and sharpen the appetite of the com- 
petitors from different towns for securing the location for 
themselves. Four counties contended for the honor. But 
when it appeared that the amount of the subscription in 
each place was to enter into the cpaestion, as an important 
element, the competitors were reduced to two, Providence 
and Newport. The competition was sharp, and the delibera- 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 19 

tions protracted. The decision was In favor of Providence ; 
and the officers and students were accordingly directed to 
repair to this place at the opening of the summer term, in 
May, 1770. 

We have now reached a point where the distinctive fea- 
tures of the College will begin obviously to appear. It will 
be shown, as we proceed, that it was, to a great extent, 
modeled after the College of New Jersey, as Yale College 
was modeled after that of Cambridge. This circumstance 
suggests a comparison which will bring out not a few facts 
hitherto unnoticed. Yale College was founded just sixty- 
four years after Harvard, and Brown University just sixty- 
four years after Yale ; the year 1700 being the dividing line 
between these two periods! 

At first, students from Connecticut were sent to Cam- 
bridge, as a few Baptist students were sent to Princeton. 
Not only were Cambridge University and Yale College sim- 
ilar in their character and in their courses of instruction, — 
most of the early instructors and trustees of the latter having 
been educated at the former, — but, with the exception of the 
corporation, they had a similar organization and mode of 
action. 

Both were entirely in the hands of the Congregationalists. 
Both were chiefly, and one exclusively, under clerical control, 
and all the students were put through a system of divinity 
according to a particular platform which the Professors were 
required to subscribe. Both were strict in their views of 
church polity, the President of one dismissing a Professor 
for being an Episcopalian, and the Trustees of the other dis- 
missing a rector and a tutor for the same reason. Both 
were aided by the State and were brought partly under its 
control. Both were governed, in part, by the same laws. 
In both, the Faculty consisted of a President or Rector, and 
three Tutors ; each Tutor carrying the same class through a 
course of studies for three years, and the President complet- 



20 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

ing the instruction in the fourth. Both, in entering the 
names of the students upon the roll, placed them according 
to their social rank. Both inflicted, with a liberal hand, 
corporal punishment by a mode of boxing, in a peculiar 
attitude, which may now be reckoned among " the lost arts." 

But we find ourselves breathing quite a different atmos- 
phere, in almost all respects, as soon as we come within the 
enclosure of the College of New Jersey and the College of 
Rhode Island, as Princeton College and Brown University 
were then called. Here, a parallel, the reverse of the pre- 
ceding, offers itself. They were both free from all interference 
whatever on the part of the State. What President With- 
erspoon said of Princeton College, might be said of Brown 
University. "The College of New Jersey," he observes, 
" is altogether independent. It hath received no favor from 
the Government but the charter." 

Both Colleges originated in a plan formed by members of 
an ecclesiastical body out of the State, and the particular 
States of New Jersey and Rhode Island were both selected 
on account of the congenial sentiments of the people. Both, 
at the very beginning, appointed numerous collecting agents, 
and even requested all the members of the corporation to 
act in that capacity. 

Both commenced with a President as sole instructor, 
aided, after a little time, by one tutor. Both, in their need, 
sent abroad financial agents to England and to the South. 
The first Presidents of both had under their charge a Latin 
School, in addition to the College. Both had a College edifice 
of the same form and dimensions, our University Hall being 
a copy of Nassau Hall. Both these edifices were seized 
during the Revolutionary War, occupied as barracks, and 
frightfully dilapidated by the soldiers. The Presidents of 
both, in the period of the Revolution, were chosen members 
of Congress. The successive Presidents of both were 
eminently eloquent and popular preachers, and pastors of 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 21 

churches, at the same time that they acted as instructors and 
heads of Colleges. The houses in which they preached were, 
in both instances, built with special reference to the accom- 
modation of the Colleges, particularly at the Commencements. 
Both had substantially the same kind of laws, usages, and 
rules of etiquette and order, even to the peculiar stamp of the 
foot by the visiting officer at the door of a student's room, 
which no student was allowed to counterfeit. In both, cor- 
poral punishment was prohibited by law. In both Colleges, 
oratory was a leading study, as it was the distinguishing 
talent and accomplishment of their respective Presidents. 

But the most important feature in which they agreed, and 
in which they differed from their sister colleges in Cambridge 
and New Haven, remains to be mentioned. They were 
ardently devoted to the cause of religious freedom. First, 
there was a purer spirit of liberty, in matters of conscience, 
in Rhode Island, New Jersey and Pennsylvania than there 
was in Massachusetts and Connecticut. President With- 
erspoon said, in 1772, that he was " a passionate admirer 
of the equal and impartial support of every religious denomi- 
nation, which is perfect in Pennsylvania and the Jerseys." 
In the next place, the College of New Jersey, as well as that 
of Rhode Island, possessed a liberal charter. " This College," 
says President Witherspoon, in another place, " was 
founded, and hath been conducted, on the most catholic 
principles." 

On these, and on many other points, there was a strong 
feeling of sympathy between the Presidents of the two Col- 
leges. Manning was a warm admirer of his old President, 
the eloquent Da vies. While the preaching of Whitfield 
and his followers was opposed at Cambridge and New Haven, 
it was received with special favor in the Colleges of New 
Jersey and of Rhode Island.* 

* See Appendix F. 



22 CENTENNIAL DISCOUESE. 

"We return from this digression and resume our narrative. 
By arrangement of a committee of the corporation, the 
President, on his removal from Warren to Providence, was 
provided with a temporary home at the house of Hon. Jabez 
Bowen, which stood on the corner of North Main and 
Bowen streets.* Prof. Howell lived in the north part of 
the town ; the students were dispersed in different parts of 
it. The College exercises were held in the second story 
of what is now called the Meeting Street School-house. 
There was also here, as there had been at Warren, a Gram- 
mar School, under the charge of the President. The Com- 
mencements, for the first six years, were held in the church 
of the Rev. Mr. Snow, which stood where the Beneficent 
Congregational church now stands, which was then the only 
meeting-house on the west side of the river. In the con- 
temporary account of the first Commencement held in Provi- 
dence, it is said : " On Wednesday, was celebrated the 
second Commencement in Ehode Island College. The par- 
ties concerned met at the Court-House about 10 o'clock, 
from whence the}^ proceeded to the Eev. Joseph Snow's 
meeting-house. The members of the Grammar School 
joined in the procession. Before the assembly broke up, a 
piece from Homer was pronounced by Master Billy Ed- 
wards, one of the Grammar School boys, not nine years old." 
This promising boy was the son of Eev. Morgan Edwards. 

Some of the votes passed at the meeting of the corpora- 
tion in 1770, the day after the Commencement just mentioned 
was held, are highly characteristic. It was " voted, that 
the Chancellor, the President and the Secretary, be a com- 
mittee to authorize any gentleman to take and collect sub- 
scriptions in any part of the world." It is to be hoped that 
the same liberal spirit in regard to receiving subscriptions, 
will always be manifested in this University. It was no sud- 
den impulse that moved the corporation to pass this- vote. At 
its very first meeting in 1764, more than seventy persons • 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. Z6 

were appointed to collect money in Rhode Island, in Massa- 
chusetts Bay, in Connecticut, and in the western part of 
the continent, which was not then the Pacific coast or the 
Gold Regions ; but, strange as it may seem, it embraced Cape 
May, Baltimore, Brandywine, Philadelphia, New York and 
Pignut Hill. , 4 

Another vote passed at the meeting held in 1770, reads 
thus : " Voted, that the thanks of the corporation be given 
to the Rev. Mr. Snow and his society, for the use of their 
meeting-house yesterday ; and also that they repair all dam- 
ages that were occasioned l^y the throng." 

It was also " Voted, that the corporation do approve of 
what the Committee for building the College and the Presi- 
dent's House have done in the business ; — and that they be 
empowered to cause the stones on the College lands to be 
made into a wall, and to fill up the holes from whence such 
stones were dug." Whether this unique phraseology, 
designed to clothe the committee with full power .to make 
a stone wall, is due to the academic or the legal lore of its 
author, Ave shall not attempt to determine. From the rec- 
ords of the same meeting, we learn that an agent was author- 
ized to obtain contributions for the College at Hilton Head. 

The struggles and the successes of the College, from this 
time onward, for a period of twenty years, appear distinctly 
in the correspondence of the President. 

June 1, 1771, he wrote to Dr. Ryland of Bristol, Eng- 
land : " The College in this place, consists of twenty-three 
youths, five of whom are to leave us in the fall. The insti- 
tution calls for the vigorous exertions of all its friends — on 
account of the unreasonable opposition made against it. I 
am cheerful under the hopes of its rising, at some future 
period, to the joy of its friends and the denomination, as well 
as the mortification of its enemies." The result has far 
exceeded his expectation ; for while its friends rejoice in its 
prosperity, its enemies have ceased to exist. An impartial 



24 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

age lias succeeded, in which all are happily agreed in the 
liberal views maintained by President Manning. 

In February of the next year, 1772, he wrote to the same : 
" The College edifice is erected on a most beautiful emi- 
nence in the neighborhood of Providence," then connected 
to the College by a winding road, and lying along the river 
and cove, with a population of about four thousand. " Our 
building is so far completed," he adds, " as to receive the 
students, who now reside there, the whole number of which 
is twenty-three," about the samn as the two preceding years. 
Referring: to Professor Howell and himself, he observes, 
" two of us are employed (as teachers,) and we stand in 
need of further help." " May we not expect some further 
assistance." 

July 10, 1772, he published the following card : — 
" Whereas, several gentlemen have requested me to take 
and instruct their sons, this may inform them, and others 
disposed to put their children under my care, that the Latin 
School is now removed and set up in the College edifice." 
One of the six graduates of the same year became teacher, 
under the President, of the Grammar School, and in 1774, 
eight of his pupils entered the College. 

Such a preparatory school was the more important, as 
great efforts were made by men unfriendly to the College, to 
prevent students from entering. President Manning says, 
" The institution calls for the vigorous exertions of all its 
friends, on account of the unreasonable opposition made 
against it ;" " the last Commencement acquired us consid- 
erable reputation amongst the literati of New England ; and, 
had we not to contend with the inveterate enmity of the 
New England clergy, it would have added to the number of 
our scholars ; but they take unwearied pains to prevent 
any from coining ; but, thank God, they don't govern the 
world." 

These representations cannot rest on mere suspicions, 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 25 

springing from the natural jealousy of rival sects and inter- 
ests, but must have referred to well known acts. They were 
mentioned by others, and even by clergymen of " the standing 
order," who were the particular friends of Manning. Nor 
does he mention these facts in his private correspondence 
only ; but in a public baccalaureate address, he said that " the 
institution, though liberal and catholic, — aiming at the good 
of mankind in general, and always studious to maintain a 
good agreement and harmony with others," " had not been 
so happy as to pass altogether without censure ; and that, 
from some whose friendship it had sought, and would highly 
esteem." He appealed to the class, who could all testify to 
" the generous, firm and impartial manner in which they had 
been treated," to vindicate the honor of the College, by the 
purity of their conduct and the usefulness of their lives. 

These clouds soon passed away. The well known eleva- 
tion of the President's character, which lifted him infinitely 
above all intrigue and dishonesty, made it impossible for 
such enmity to continue except in base minds ; and the effect 
of the Revolution which soon followed, was to disseminate 
the principles of religious liberty, and to mitigate, though 
not at once wholly to destroy, the spirit of intolerance and 
bigotry. The College itself contributed not a little to this 
happy result. 

In 1773, the President speaks of the number of students 
as being thirty, and amongst them " many promising, pious 
young men." He had already sent out " three eminent 
ministers," " their age considered," and " another, promising 
as fair," had just entered upon his work. One of his pupils, 
a young attorney at law, was already at the head of his pro- 
fession in the colony. 

" I hope," he says, a few months later, " to see the College 
on a more respectable footing, should I live to an advanced 
age ; and, if not, I hope posterity will reap great advantages 
from it." 
4 



26 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 



Though a serious man in character and purpose, he could 
unbend at times, — "desipere in loco" — as we see from a note 
of his to his intimate friend, the Eev. Mr. Smith of Haverhill. 
After reo-rettin^ that he and Mrs. Manning were obliged 
to return from Boston without visiting him, as he had in- 
tended, he says : " Now, therefore, as I am tied to College, 
pray take Mrs. Smith and the heir apparent, and the new 
chaise, and come and take up your station for a week or two 
on the hill of Providence, where I will insure you excellent 
good water, the best my home affords, and our good com- 
pany." In the same letter, he speaks of having made a 
tour into Connecticut, in the vacation, where he preached 
fifteen sermons in fourteen days, seven of which were in the 
houses of his Congregational brethren. 

It had been the intention of the Faculty, that is, of the 
President and Professor Howell, to omit the public exer- 
cises at the Commencement, from an apprehension that the 
class would be unable to interest a public audience. The 
class, with a modest assurance, judged otherwise, and asked 
for permission to try. The result justified their expectation, 
for they performed their parts so well as to receive " univer- 
sal applause." Mr. Solomon Drown, afterwards Professor, 
was the valedictorian. 

The most important acts of the year 1774 appear to have 
been the addition of a third instructor, by the appointment of 
a tutor, Mr. John Dorrance, and the resolution passed 
by the Baptist Society, " to build a meeting-house for the 
worship of Almighty God, and also for holding Commence- 
ment in." A vote was also passed by the corporation, "that 
<£10 be added to Professor Howell's salary, upon his re- 
moval from his present dwelling (at the north end of the 
town) to the neighborhood of the College edifice. 

In 1775, such was the excited state of the public mind, 
in consequence of the rupture with the mother country, that 
it was thought inexpedient to attempt to hold Commencement 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 27 

exercises, though there was a graduating class of ten. Mr. 
Manning had previously been " called away to the Southern 
States," and, " on his return," to use his own language, " a 
revival engaged his attention till that fatal 19th of April fol- 
lowing, when hostilities commenced at Lexington." 

In 177(3, the Commencement was held in this house for the 
first time. One of the orations on the occasion was written 
and delivered in Hebrew : but President Stiles, of Yale 
College, went even beyond this ; for he once delivered an 
oration there in Hebrew, Chaldaic and Arabic. 

In just three months from that time, the British fleet en- 
tered Newport Harbor, and the Koyal army landed on the 
island. " This brought the camp in plain view from the 
College, with the naked eye." "The King's army," says 
the President, "is in sight of my house." Upon this, "the 
country flew to arms, and marched for Providence ; then, 
unprovided with barracks, they marched into the College 
and dispersed the students, about forty in number. The 
President gave notice to the students, " that their attendance 
on College ordei's is dispensed with until the end of the next 
spring vacation." He should have said ' till the end of the 
war ;' for the interruption, instead of being limited to six 
months, continued for six years. " The town," he after- 
wards said, " became a garrison ; and the apprehensions of 
an attack, and the daily alarms to which we were subjected, 
induced numbers of families to retire into the more interior 
parts of the country." 

In 1777, September 3d, the corporation met in this house 
privately, and, without any public exercises, conferred de- 
grees on seven young gentlemen, who had studied, the 
greater part of the year, without instruction. 

The next meeting of the corporation was held nearly three 
years later, in May, 1780, " to transact," as it was said in 
the call, "business of the highest importance." The record 
says : " President Manning presented a proposal for revi- 



28 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

ving the College, containing the terms on which he would 
begin to instruct the youth, who might apply for education, 
which was approved, and he was accordingly ordered to 
begin." 

What thoughts, meanwhile, occupied the mind of the 
President, may be inferred from his correspondence. He 
wrote to all his ministering brethren, " who were capable of 
teaching Latin, to engage in the business immediately." 
He wished to have new classes ready to enter and fill up 
the College as soon as it should be reopened. To one of 
these, a former pupil, he wrote, urging him to open a Latin 
school in his parish, as " a nursery for the College," and to 
use all his influence to induce his people " to educate their 
children." 

If we consider how discouraging; all the circumstances 
then were for any special efforts in behalf of education, we 
shall be struck with the good President's zeal, which seemed 
to increase as the obstacles to be overcome were multiplied. 

Scarcely had he, on the 10th of May, 1780, entered the 
vacant College edifice, recently occupied by the army, and 
commenced his bold attempt, single-handed, to revive the 
College in those troublous times, when it was seized, while 
he was preaching in the town on Sunday, and used as a 
hospital for the French army, and held by them for a period 
of two years. 

And yet, he was not discouraged. He continued to give 
instruction, probably in his own house : and a part of the 
class who took their degrees privately in 1782, " had pur- 
sued their studies," it is expressly said, " under President 
Manning." Although there was no Commencement in 1782, 
the corporation met, and their acts are among the most im- 
portant in the history of the College, leading to its comple te 
restoration. 

The Providence Gazette of September 7th, 1782, announ- 
ces the event in these words : " It is with pleasure we inform 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 29 

the public, that the affairs of the College in this town, which 
have been greatly interrupted by our public difficulties, were 
happily revived on Wednesday last. It was resolved that 
the edifice should be directly repaired, and ample provision 
was made for instruction." 

We learn from the records of this memorable meeting, 
that three individuals, who were juniors when the College 
was disbanded in 1776, were, upon inquiry as to their profi- 
ciency, admitted to the degree of A. B., in connection with 
those who had studied privately with Dr. Manning. Fur- 
thermore, votes were passed to present a petition to the 
Assembly, for such a modification of the charter as is 
required by our becoming independent of the British Parlia- 
ment ; to break the old seal of the College, which contains 
the busts of the present King and Queen of Great Britain, 
and devise a new one, to be made of silver ; to pay the Pres- 
ident according to agreement entered into in 1780, at the 
rate of £60 a year, for his services during the recess, — a pe- 
riod of two years and four months, — deducting the amount, 
about one-third, which he received for tuition ; to expend 
£200 " to make the top of the College secure, mend the win- 
dows in the rooms which will be immediately wanted, and 
repair a sufficient number of the said rooms, for the use of 
the students," the remaining windows to " be stopped with 
boards ;" to represent to the General Assembly " the neces- 
sity this corporation is under for want of the interest due 
on the money (£900, their fund,) which they have lent to 
the State ; to draught a petition to the Continental Congress, 
stating the account for the rents due, and damages done the 
College edifice during its occupancy by the American forces 
and the troops of his most Christian Majesty ;" to open " a 
subscription for raising, not exceeding £300, for the sole 
purpose of repairing the College edifice," the money so sub- 
scribed to " be repaid with interest, out of the first money 
raised by the corporation ;"' to appoint a committee to ar- 



30 CENTENNIAL DISCOUESE. 

range all the College papers, which are now loose and in a 
scattered condition, and to bring into town the College Li- 
brary, which, owing to the public confusion, has, for several 
years, been in the country. 

These extracts introduce us into a busy scene, where every- 
thing is in motion for recommencing operations in the 
College. 

In the published account of the Commencement in 1783, it 
is said: "It cannot but be pleasing to the friends of litera- 
ture in general, and to the inhabitants of this State in par- 
ticular, to see this young seminary thus emerging from its 
ruins into respectability and importance." 

But the ever active President was not satisfied. Seeing: 
the absolute necessity of an increase of funds, he wrote to a 
friend in Eno-land, in a beseechino; manner, among- other 
things, the following : " The College has not yet re- 
ceived a name, for want of a distinguished benefactor. Such 
a person we should be glad to find in England." We, how- 
ever, who live at this day, are content with the result of 
Manning's unsuccessful appeal to his British friends. Our 
fathers, at last, put their trust in Providence, and they were 
not disappointed. 

At this time, 1783, the attention of President Manning 
was turned to a subject, which has since engaged the 
thoughts, and called forth the efforts of many of our wisest 
and best men. " Several pious youths," he remarks, " who 
promise fair for the ministry, having picked up some gram- 
mar learning, have applied to me to know whether any way 
can open for their assistance in getting an education. This 
has led me to think of a plan to assist such." The plan of 
President Manning was to have a standing committee 
appointed by the corporation, with power to assist such 
young men as should, upon examination, be found to give 
special promise of usefulness. " I was long since convinced," 
he adds, " that a plan of this kind would be vastly servicea- 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 31 

ble." Thus, this far-sighted and benevolent educator saw 
dimly, in the distance what, in our day, in his own College, 
has grown into a well adjusted system of scholarships. 
Nothing would have given him more heart-felt satisfaction 
than to have seen in operation, in his own day, just such a 
system, as has been adopted here within the last few years. 

For the first year after the revival of the College, as in 
the first year of its existence at Warren, the President was 
the only teacher. In 1783, he was assisted in the work of 
instruction by the appointment of Mr. Asher Eobins, as 
Tutor. The records of the meetings of the corporation, 
about this time, contain acts highly characteristic of the con- 
dition of the College. Among them, are votes to authorize 
the President to go abroad and solicit donations, " to preserve 
the Institution from dissolution ;" to present a petition " to 
his most Christian Majesty to patronize this College ;" to 
appoint a committee "to solicit immediately subscriptions for 
the College, in Providence and Newport," to appoint three 
agents to solicit donations in different parts of America, 
and one to go to Europe ; to approve of the address to his 
most Christian Majesty, drawn up by the Eev. Dr. Stillman 
and Dr. Waterhouse, and to address a letter to Dr. Ben- 
jamin Franklin to accompany it, " to forward said letter 
so soon as possible, with the address, to the King of France ; 
and to send a duplicate of each by the first conveyance, to 
Mr. Howell, to be communicated to the French minister 
at Philadelphia, soliciting his influence in our favor." If 
his most Christian Majesty did not interest himself in the 
affairs of Rhode Island, or sympathize with our fathers in 
their efforts in favor of liberty and learning enough to be- 
come a patron of the College, the fault was not theirs. 

At the meeting of the corporation in 1781, Benjamin 
Waterhouse, of the University of Leyden, was appointed 
Professor of Natural History ; and Joseph Brown, Esq., 
Professor of Experimental Philosophy. It was also " Voted, 



32 CENTENNIAL DISCOUESE. 

that the corporation will proceed to establish professorships 
in the various branches of learning, as fast as suitable per- 
sons can be found to undertake them, and that the President 
and Professors be requested to enquire after suitable persons 
for such places." This appearance of courage in the ap- 
pointment of Professors, is accounted for by a statement 
made in a letter to Dr. Rippon of London, in which it is 
said that those distinguished gentlemen " engaged to give 
lectures in their respective branches, without any expense to 
the College, while destitute of an endowment." Such gen- 
erosity on the part of men of science, is worthy of all praise ; 
and adds another to the many proofs that the College was 
established and raised to respectability, by the efforts of 
unselfish and noble-hearted men. 

It was at this time, that Mr. James Bueeill entered the 
College. The Hon. Teistam Buegess, in his Eulogy, says : 
"Dr. James Manning, one of the first scholars, teachers, 
and orators of the age, then presided over that institution." 
After speaking of Manning's rare eloquence, and of the 
manner in which he " taught and illustrated the principles of 
his divine art," he goes on to say : " Here did Bueeill 
form his style and manner, warmed and purified by fire from 
the divine altar of Manning." 

Rev. C. Evans of Bristol, writes to Manning September 
5th, 1785 : " I take this opportunity of informing you that, 
at our late annual meeting of the Educational Society here, 
I obtained a vote in favor of your College, respecting the 
many valuable books we have to dispose of, and am empow- 
ered to send such as I may approve of. I shall take an early- 
opportunity of doing this." 

President Manning had written to different friends in 
England, representing the wants of our Library. Among 
other things he had said : " The great objections which 
operate against us, are the want of an apparatus and Library, 
and the want of Professors. Our Library consists of about 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 33 

five hundred volumes, most of which are both very ancient 
and very useless, as well as very ragged and unsightly. 
Last Fall, the state of the College was laid before the Asso- 
ciations in New England and Philadelphia, which strongly 
recommended to all to make collections for improving it." 

Similar representations had been made to Granville 
Sharp, who interested himself in behalf of the College, as 
we learn from a letter of his to President Manning, dated 
" Old Jewry, London, 20th February, 1785 : I received 
your obliging letter by the hands of Mr. Drown, who 
seems highly worthy of the excellent character you gave me 
of him. My best thanks are due to you for the satisfactory 
intelligence of the safe arrival of the books which I sent for 
the Library of the College in Providence, and also for your 
full and explicit account of that very useful institution." 

Manning's reply to this courteous letter is preserved, and 
the tone of it is alike honorable to both parties. He says : " I 
have the pleasure to inform you there is an evident alteration 
for the better, in the morals of the people throughout this 
country. Religion begins again to raise her drooping head ; 
and what affords me peculiar satisfaction is, that a spirit of 
moderation prevails beyond what has been known since the 
first settlement of New England. The various denominations 
of Christians are cultivating a spirit of brotherly love, by 
unreserved intercourse with each other." 

In the vote of thanks to Mr. Sharp, the corporation 
speak not only of his " valuable donation of books," but also 
of " his attention to the interests of this College." In the 
records of the next year, we find the following appropriate 
vote : " Yoted, by the Fellows and Trustees, that the degree 
of Doctor of Laws be conferred on Granville Sharp, 
Esquire, of London, in the Kingdom of Great Britain." 

At a special meeting of the corporation, held March 13, 
1786, the President, having given information that he had 
been elected by the General Assembly, a delegate to repre- 
5 



34 CENTENNIAL' DISCOURSE. 

sent the State in Congress, and having requested leave of 
absence for the purpose, it was voted " that in case the Rev. 
Perez Fobes, of Raynham, can be induced to take the 
charge of the Institution, as Vice-President, the corporation 
will agree to the request." 

The manner of President Manning's election, was some- 
what peculiar. "There was a vacancy in the delegation, 
and the General Assembly, who were to fill it, were sitting 
in Providence. No one in particular had been proposed. 
One afternoon, Dr. Manning went to the State House," 
from curiosity, and " was introduced on the floor and accom- 
modated with a seat. Shortly, Commodore Hopkins rose 
and nominated President Manning, — and therefore he was 
appointed." 

To his friend Gordon, the historian, then in England, he 
gave his reasons for accepting the appointment. " Don't 
imagine," he says, "that I mean to exchange the sacred for 
the political character, because I have accepted an appoint- 
ment to a seat in Congress. It is purely with a view to 
obtain, if possible, a grant to compensate the rents and dam- 
ages for the use of the College edifice during the war." 

In respect to his feelings as a Christian and as a Christian 
minister, he wrote, but a little time before, to Dr. Rippon, 
whom he had more than once expected to visit as agent of 
the College : " I almost give over the expectation of seeing 
my English brethren till I meet them above, the prospect of 
which often gives me pleasure. Then I hope to see and 
converse with the whole family at home, without the aid or 
necessity of pen and ink. In the mean time, I feel my obli- 
gations to diligence in the business of my holy calling." 

On another occasion, regretting that he could not do all 
he would, he wrote to a friend : "As the term of human 
life is so short, and the sphere of our activity so contracted, 
it behooves us to exert ourselves to fill it up to the utmost, 
with acts of public utility, especially in promoting the inter- 
ests of the Redeemer. 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 35 

The remaining part of Manning's administration, though 
full of interest, presents no new features of special importance 
to the historian. We shall, therefore, omit all the extracts 
we had made, except one passage which will serve as a fit- 
ting close.* 

In a letter to Dr. Eippon, dated April 7, 1786, he said : 
" Both the College and the congregation are, I hope, well 
provided for during my absence (i. e. while in Congress). 
The latter are now looking out for a minister. I ever de- 
clincd the pastoral charge of the church, as quite incompati- 
ble with my engagements to the College, though^ I have 
preached, administered ordinances, visited the sick, attended 
funerals, &c, for the last fifteen years, without assistance. 
Convinced that I cannot hold that place, with advantage to 
them, and hold the presidency of the College, I have strongly 
recommended to them to obtain, if possible, a minister ; and 
they are now looking out for one. But there is little proba- 
bility of their finding the man soon on this continent. A 
man of letters, politeness, strict piety and orthodoxy ; of pop- 
ular talents, possessed of a good share of human prudence, 
and no bigot ; in a word, a truly Christian orator is the man 
they want." 

Such was his conception of a model preacher ; and who 
would attempt to improve upon the picture thus briefly 
sketched ? This language was almost prophetic, for five 
years afterwards he writes : " The people of Providence 
have chosen Mr. Maxcy for their minister." How must 
he have rejoiced, first, in the honor of having such a pupil, 
excelling in the very things in which he himself excelled ; 
and secondly, in seeing such an eloquent Christian orator 
appointed as his successor in the pulpit ! Could he have 
foreseen that his young friend would also succeed him in the 
presidency, his joy would have been complete. 

A new era in the history of the College, now opens before 
* See Appendix (Jr. 



36 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

us. The first President died July 24, 1791, and, after an 
interval of little more than a year, the College was com- 
mitted to the care and guardianship of Mr. Maxcy, then 
but twenty-four years of age, who, for several years acted 
as President, under the title of Vice-President. The career 
of this remarkable young man indicated a high order of 
genius. He entered the College at the early age of fifteen, 
was graduated with the highest honors of his class, was 
appointed tutor while yet a minor ; at the age of twenty- 
three, was ordained pastor of this church, elected Professor 
of Divinity and Trustee of the College. The next year he 
entered upon the duties of the Presidency. He was the 
youngest man that had ever held that office in this country. 

As a man of letters, he had greater resources and more 
varied learning than President Manning. As a writer, he 
possessed a more brilliant imagination, and a more exquisite 
sensibility to every kind of beauty. As an orator, he sur- 
passed him in vigor of thought, elevation of sentiment, and 
splendor of diction ; but was less popular in his style, less 
commanding in person, manner and voice ; less winning and 
graceful, — though with his small, or rather, short person and 
slender voice, he had a glow of enthusiasm, and of inspira- 
tion, as it were, and a clearness and neatness of enunciation, 
that rendered his whole manner dignified and impressive in 
a very high degree. 

As a man of practical judgment, and safe views on all sub- 
jects, inspiring universal and unlimited confidence, President 
Manning was undoubtedly his superior ; and this may have 
been one of the reasons why Maxcy was, for so long a 
period, only Vice-President. However that may be, his 
genius and learning had the effect to attract public attention, 
and draw students to the College, and to add materially to 
its literary reputation. 

During his brilliant career of ten years, men were edu- 
cated and sent out into all the professions, whose eminence 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 37 

and public influence will not suffer in comparison with those 
of the graduates of any other period. 

In the order of his mind, it has been well remarked, he 
bore some resemblance to Eobert Hall. He possessed 
the same majesty of thought, splendor of imagery, and deli- 
cate perception of the beautiful. A single sentence from 
him will better illustrate this than any labored description. 
Speaking of the Supreme Being, he interrogates : 

" Who covered the earth with such a pleasing variety of 
fruits and flowers? Who gave them their delightful fra- 
grance, and painted them with such exquisite colors ? Who 
causes the same water to whiten in the lily that blushes in 
the rose? Do not these things indicate a cause infinitely 
superior to any finite being." 

We must not, however, suppose him to be indifferent, or 
a stranger to the severer studies, and to the exact sciences. 
Mathematical studies he earnestly recommended to his stu- 
dents on account of their disciplinary influence. He justly 
remarks : 

" They are definite, closely connected in all their parts, 
and bend the mind to truth by rigid demonstration. The 
habits of attention and acuteness you acquire in mathemati- 
cal science, will accompany you in your other literary labors, 
and manifest themselves in the productions of your own 
genius." 

The field of natural philosophy was one which afforded 
him special delight. He loved to contemplate the various 
phenomena of nature, and to resolve them into the operations 
of original and universal laws. His discourses abound in 
illustrations of the truth of this remark. He, himself, says : 

"The seeming irregularities and disjointed appearances 
in the natural system, stimulate curiosity to discover their 
hidden connections. The mind, from its tendency to order 
and systematic arrangement, proceeds, with pleasure, in 
resolving particular tacts into general principles, ascertains 



rfb CENTENNIAL DISCOUKSE. 

the connections between them, until it renders the theatre 
of nature a coherent and magnificent spectacle." 

In these words, President Maxcy, unconsciously gave a 
true picture of his own mind and its native tendencies. 

As might be expected from his own pure taste and pol- 
ished diction, he was a great admirer of the ancient classics, 
and urged upon his pupils the diligent study of those imper- 
ishable monuments of genius. He addressed to them these 
words : 

" No study is so well calculated to bring forward and 
invigorate the powers of youth as the study of languages." 
" The beneficial eifects of these have been so conspicuous in 
the greatest statesmen, orators, poets, and theologians, that 
we ought unquestionably to retain them, and hold them *as 
an important. and essential part of education." 

Of the importance of oratory, his own art, he, of course, 
entertained a very high idea. He lamented that it was so 
much neglected in our schools of learning. 

" We should expect," he says, " that oratory would be 
studied with the greatest assiduity and zeal ; and that no 
means would be left untried to facilitate its acquisition." 

In this example, we see that the seed sown, first by 
Davies, in the mind of Manning, and then by Manning 
in the mind of his pupil, fell into a congenial soil ; and that 
Maxcy's appreciation of the principles taught by both, and 
his success in acting on them, went hand in hand. A sys- 
tem of education that can be prolific in the production of 
such men, needs no other commendation. 

In Maxcy we find no abnormal development or one-sided 
culture, but a symmetry of faculties and harmony of parts, 
all uniting to produce a sound and comprehensive thinker, 
and splendid Christian orator. He was not only an accom- 
plished scholar, but a model teacher and President. His 
fine analytic powers, his logical acumen and metaphysical 
discrimination, made every subject, upon which he touched, 
as clear as sunlight. 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 39 

His luminous language added to the effect of his rich and 
varied thought. His teaching was not mechanical, produ- 
cing a given amount that could be measured like a piece of 
cloth ; but formative, instilling tastes and biases which grow 
stronger and stronger till they appear in their maturity in 
manhood. Would that his example in this respect were 
more generally followed. 

But perhaps the greatest influence of President Maxcy 
upon his pupils was, after all, owing to the fact that he was 
in the highest sense, a Christian gentleman as well as a bril- 
liant scholar. Although, in the government of the College, 
he uniformly maintained strict order, he was obeyed more 
from love than fear. He was not a stern minister of justice, 
dealing out with official coldness the exact measure of pun- 
ishment due to each offender ; but he was a man of generous 
nature and fine sensibility, and was slow to break down the 
spirit of one who had erred merely from youthful indiscre- 
tion. He was the personal friend of his pupils, aiding them 
in their embarrassments, and remembered by them more as 
a benefactor than as the head of a College police. He had no 
enemies among those who were, or had been, his pupils. 
How happy the fortune of the young men, who, while they 
were kept under all proper restraint, passed four of the most 
important years of their lives, as to the formation of their 
character, under the perpetual sunshine of his loving, cheer- 
ing, inspiring influence ! Listen to the affectionate words 
with which he took leave of one of his classes : 

" Before I part with you, I feel it my duty to declare, in 
this public manner, that your moral conduct and literary 
proficiency, have excited sentiments of the highest esteem and 
most cordial friendship, in the hearts of those who have had 
the care of your education." 

That is as it should be ; and is equally honorable to both 
parties, giving some meaning to the stereotyped phrase, 
"the government is strictly paternal." Here we find the 



40 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

secret of that universal affection and respect for him, 
expressed by those who were so happy as to be numbered 
among his pupils. 

There was, in my judgment, one drawback to his charac- 
ter, which, historical fidelity requires to be mentioned. Like 
so many other men of genius, he was evidently deficient in 
that caution, that uniform prudence, and that steadiness 
and power of will, which are necessary to a complete ad- 
ministrative character. In all other respects, he was an 
extraordinary man. 

Let us now descend from the eminent position of President 
Maxcy as a representative of learning, to some of the lowly 
routine duties and petty details of the President's official life. 
A certain portion of them could not have been very refresh- 
ing to a man of his tastes. That part of the administration 
which relates to " commons," vail strike the present genera- 
tion of students as not a little novel. The hazards and vex- 
ations of providing commons for students, can be learned in 
some manner from the records of the corporation. In the 
first place, large provision for boarding was to be made, with 
some uncertainty about its being all called for ; and hence, 
there was a liability to a pecuniary loss for sOme one. But 
who was to sustain such loss, — the steward, the corpora- 
tion, or the students ? The bills for board, it must be con- 
fessed, were not always paid. Whom did that particularly 
concern? After considering these and still more intricate 
questions, liable to arise, we shall not be surprised at such 
votes as the following : 

" Resolved, That every student who shall neglect to return to Col- 
lege, after the expiration of the vacation, shall be charged the whole 
amount of his commons — except one shilling and three pence, per 
week." (This last amount being charged for servants.) 

"Resolved, That in respect to the operation of certain laws com- 
plained of as a grievance, by George and Thomas Hazard, Esquires, 
of Newport, whereby their sons respectively are required to pay full 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 41 

board to the Steward, during their absence the winter past, said 
board be remitted so far as is consistent with the circumstances of 
the Steward in the necessary provision of fuel and domestics." 

" Voted, That the account presented by the Steward be referred 
to a committee, and that such part of it as may be just, be paid." 

" Voted, That the Steward write to the parents and guardians of 
all. students of this College, who live in this State, in arrears for 
College dues, to make payment in one month, and to inform them 
that in case of their neglecting to avail themselves of this notice, re- 
course must necessarily be had to the law, by putting their bonds in 
suit ; and that all such students as live out of this State, be allowed 
two months for payment before suit." 

At a later period, a similar motion was issued, offering as 
a reason, that " the circumstances of the College officers 
render any longer delay inadmissible." We find frequent 
instances in which the Professors collected the fees for tui- 
tion, and went without their salaries if they were unsuccess- 
ful. Again : 

" Voted, That the Steward shall not be permitted, on any pre- 
tence, to sell any spirituous liquors to the students, except cider ; 
and that his bills shall not be presented to the parents or guardians 
of the students, unless all the articles he supplies, are distinctly speci- 
fied, with the price of each, — and in failure of the observance of 
this law, the Steward shall be displaced." 

The President and other members of the committee ap- 
pointed to procure a Steward, reported that they had 
"conversed with the late Steward, on the subject of his provi- 
ding for the students till next Commencement ; and that he 
will, if $2 00 be advanced to him, and the board at eight 
shillings and sixpence, including- sweeping of rooms, &c. ;" 
that they had also "conversed with Mr. B. of Rehoboth, who 
will engage in the stewardship at eight shillings per week — 
but cannot begin in less than three weeks from the present 
time, — Whereupon, 

" Voted, That Mr. B. be, olscted: Steward of this College, on the 
6 



42 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

terms proposed, — and that till that period, the students be at liberty 
to procure victualling for themselves." 

"Ordered, That the late Steward be called, to know when it will 
be convenient for him to move his family from the College. Mr. R. 
attended, and said he would remove this week : Whereupon, Or- 
dered, that Mr. R. remove his family out of the College edifice this 
week." 

" Voted, That in future, the Steward collect the tuition money." 

" Voted, That Messrs. Smith and Russell be a committee to 
procure a suitable person for a Steward to the College, and that they 
notify the want of one, in the next Providence Gazette, and request 
any person inclined to engage, to apply to them in order to make a 
contract." 

" Voted, That Colonel Russell and Johk Smith, Esq., the com- 
mittee for conferring with the Steward, be requested to ascertain 
what compensation he will require to supply the commons annually ; 
he to advance the money, and to apportion the amount quarterly on 
the students." 

The President represented to the corporation, that the 
students had repeatedly signified to him, that, as many of 
the necessary articles of life had diminished in price, they 
conceived the price of commons should be also reduced. A= 
interview was, in consequence, had with the Steward, tc 
whom it was proposed to deduct nine pence per week from 
the board ; to which he consented. 

Five weeks afterwards, the representation was renewed, 
complaining also of the quality of provisions and a want of 
cleanliness in the cooking. It was, therefore, "Voted, That 

be a committee to confer with the Steward and the 

committee of the students, on the subject aforesaid, except as 
far as relates to the price of board." 

" Voted, That, in case the Steward shall neglect or refuse to take 
bonds of the students as the law .directs, he shall be considered 
responsible therefor, to all intents and purposes." 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 43 

Next, we find the following laconic communication from 
the Steward : " Gentlemen of the corporation of Ehode 
Island College, I will thank you to release me from the con- 
tract for supplying commons for said College, and from any 
other duty appertaining to said office." It was, therefore, 

" Voted, That the above recited resignation of the Steward be 
accepted, whenever all the arrears due to him from the students 
shall be fully discharged, and not before." 

These must suffice as specimens of this branch of the lite- 
rary history of the University. Another, occupying about 
the same space in the records, and quite as unique in its 
character, must be omitted for want of time. It is that part 
of the business of the corporation, which relates to an inter- 
esting lottery, in which the College engaged in order to 
procure funds. 

Though the Presidency of Maxcy was not of long dura- 
tion, many eminent men were educated under him. It is 
only necessary to mention the names of Judge Wood, of 
Massachusetts; the Hon. Samuel W. Bridgham, and 
Nathaniel Searle, eminent lawyers of this city ; Hon. 
William Baylies, of Massachusetts ; Chief Justice 
Whitman, of Maine ; the Hon. John Holmes, of Maine ; 
Tristam Burgess, of this city; Abraham Blanding, 
of South Carolina; David King, of Newport; Benja- 
min Shurtleff, of Boston ; Professor Benjamin Allen, 
and the Hon. James Talmadge, of New York ; Jeremiah 
Chaplin, President of Waterville College ; Henry Whea- 
ton, the well known writer on the Law of Nations ; and 
Judge Pitman and John Whipple, of this city. 

President Maxcy resigned his office, and the Rev. Asa 
Messer succeeded him in 1802. Under President Mes- 
SEr's wise and skillful administration, the College pros- 
pered : — its finances were improved ; its means of instruction 
extended ; and the number of students greatly augmented. 

That he early took a high rank in the College, as a 



44 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

scholar, is evident from the offices which he held. He was 
graduated under President Manning, in 1790. He was 
appointed Tutor, in 1791. He was reappointed the next 
year, and his salary was doubled. In 1796, when the Pro- 
fessorship of Languages was established, he was made the 
first Professor ; and in 1799, he was made Professor of 
Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. His salary was 
greater than that of any other Professor. 

Of my old President, I cannot speak but with respect and 
affection. He had a vigorous and manly style of thought, 
and was a genial, pleasant teacher. In discipline, in his best 
days, he was adroit, having a keen insight into human 
nature, and touching at will, skillfully, all the chords of the 
student's heart. Rarely was he mistaken in the character 
of a young man, or in the motive to which he appealed, in 
order to influence him. Foibles and weaknesses, he treated 
with some degree of indulgence ; but vice and willful wrong, 
he treated with unsparing severity. 

In government, he followed no abstract principles, — which 
so often mislead the theorist, — but depended on his good 
sense in each case, giving considerable scope to views of 
expediency. The student who attempted to circumvent 
him, was sure to be outwitted in the end. On account of 
his great shrewdness, he was sometimes called " the cunning 
President." One of the many anecdotes related of him is, 
that he kept in his room a bottle of picra for sick students ; 
and that every one who came to him to be excused from 
duty on account of headaches, found it necessary to swal- 
low a dose before leaving the room. 

He had some marked peculiarities of manner, such as an 
unusual gait, in which his small-clothes, lower extremities, 
and swinging cane, performed a conspicuous part; a swel- 
ling of the cheeks when displeased, accompanied with a 
quick, gruff utterance ; and in earnest public discourse, a 
muscular force and over-strained emphasis, with a peculiar 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 45 

gesture, as if he would grasp his subject in the extended 
downward curvature of his rig-lit hand and arm. 
# His individuality, both in body and mind, was strongly 
marked. He was altogether upoetical in his nature. His 
language had no coloring of the fancy ; but was naked, plain 
and strong. His economy, which was proverbial, extended 
even to his words. His tendencies were rather to science 
than to literature, and in the latter part of life, as is often 
the case, more to practical wisdom and prudence, than to 
either. 

He was a powerful and sound moral reasoner, and no 
thoughtful young man, who listened to his Sunday evening 
discourses, could fail to carry away impressions not easily 
removed. I well recollect the effect upon my own mind of 
many such passages as this : 

" Yes, young gentlemen, on the same principle that you 
deny the existence of God, you must deny the most plain 
mathematical axioms ; you must deny your own existence ; 
you must deny the existence of anything and everything in 
the lump. None but a fool, none but a madman can say in 
his heart, 'there is no God.' " 

His was not a mind to leave its own impress on that of his 
pupils. As he was independent himself, so he wished his 
pupils to be. He had no imitators, he wished to have none. 
The many eminent men educated under him had no other 
resemblance to each other, than freedom from authority. 
There is among them no uniform style of thought, resulting 
from its beino; run in the same mould. Even among- the 
undergraduates, there was a personal independence of char- 
acter and thought, and a manliness of deportment and self- 
respect that gave a certain air of dignity to the two upper 
classes. Each man was expected to develop and retain his 
own individuality, without being schooled down to tameness, 
oithor by the Faculty orb}' the collective will of his fellow 
students. If he did right, it was his own act ; if he did 



46 CENTENNIAL DISCOUKSE. 

wrong, lie would scorn to say that it was because he did not 
dare to do right. 

President Messer was a warm advocate of religious lib- 
erty, as were both his predecessors. " This literary institu- 
tion," he says in a letter to an English friend, " was founded 
by men who breathed the very spirit of religious freedom. 
The charter is congenial with the whole of the civil govern- 
ment established here by the venerable Soger Williams. 
Of the value of this spirit of religious freedom, no man, per- 
haps, has a higher estimation than I myself." 

It has already been intimated that the College prospered 
under Dr. Messer's administration. In the time of both 
his predecessors, the Faculty was small, and the resources 
of the College limited. Under the former, in the latter part 
of his presidency, there were two professors, — both without 
salaries, — and two tutors. 

Under President Maxcy, the professorship of languages 
was established ; and the Faculty then consisted of the Pres- 
ident, a lecturer, two professors and two tutors. 

During Dr. Messer's presidency, there were, a part of 
the time, two professors, three non-resident lecturers, three 
medical lecturers, and two tutors. 

The finances of the College improved in a corresponding 
degree. In 1804, the College was endowed and received its 
present name. 

It was a fortunate circumstance for him, that his name 
could be associated with that of the chief benefactor of the 
College. Posterity will never cease to honor the memory of 
the Christian merchant, whose princely liberality raised the 
College from a state of want to comparative independence, 
and furnished it with the means of giving an education wor- 
thy of its origin. If to James Manning belongs the honor 
of planting the University, to Nicholas Brown belongs 
the honor of sustaining it. Beside endowing the College, he 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 47 

presented to the corporation the fine edifice, called Hope 
College, during Dr. Messee's presidency.* 

We will close our account of President Messee, by pre- 
senting a description of him and of his character, by two of 
his most distinguished pupils, one at the beginning, the other 
at the end, of his administration. 

The first is from the Hon. William L. Maecy. His 
words are : 

"Dr. Messee sustained his position as President of the 
College, in a highly creditable manner, and was generally 
esteemed and beloved by the students. He was regarded as 
a man of even temper, honest in his purposes, free from prej- 
udice, and well adapted to exercise that kind of authority 
which pertained to his office. He always met his class with 
a kindly spirit and manner, and never assumed any offensive 
official airs, or did anything that seemed designed to impress 
us with a sense of his superiority. He was often very famil- 
iar in our recitations, and sometimes introduced anecdotes 
that we thought more remarkable for o-oocl humor and 
appropriateness, than for the highest literary refinement." 

The second portraiture is from the pen of the Eev. Dr. 
Paek, who says : 

" His manner of walking was a noticeable symbol of the 
reach of his mind. He swung his cane far and wide, as he 
walked, and no observer would doubt that he was an inde- 
pendent man ; he gesticulated broadly, as he preached ; his 
enunciation was forcible, now and 4;hen overwhelming, some- 
times shrill, but was characterized by a breadth of tone, and 
a prolonged emphasis, which added to its momentum, and 
made an indelible impression on the memory. His pupils, 
when they had been unfaithful, trembled before his expan- 
sive frown, as it portended a rebuke which would well nigh 
devour them ; and they felt a dilating of the whole soul, 
when they were greeted with his good, and honest, and 
broad smile." 

* See Appendix H. 



48 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

In this rapid sketch, we have brought down the history 
of the College to a period where it is proper to close. The 
delineation of the labors of the living, must be left to the 
future historian. It would be impossible to go into details, 
at the present time, without touching upon points in which 
many living persons are concerned ; and it would be an 
offence against delicacy, to pass these under review so long as 
the actors are on the stage. So much, however, may be 
properly said, that the next presidency was highly success- 
ful in respect to the number of students who entered ; the 
character of the instruction given ; the public buildings 
erected, and the funds of various kinds contributed, during 
the period. 

The individual who filled that office is too well known, as 
a distinguished educator, to need any delineation of his char- 
acter or work from us. He directed the whole power of his 
intellect and force of his character, to the work of instruction 
and discipline, — acting vigorously upon the minds of his 
pupils, arousing their energies, stimulating thought, and form- 
ing in them habits of severe study and patient investigation. 
He aimed especially at simplifying knowledge, by going 
directly back to elementary principles, and avoiding, for the 
most part, the circuitous path of studying other men's opinions. 
His aim was not so much to impart knowledge, as to develop 
the power of original thinking. 

The same qualities of mind that made him an effective 
teacher, drew around him a corps of instructors whom he 
inspired with his own spirit, and by means of both, a system 
of instruction was established, which placed the University 
in the first class of American Colleges. 

Indeed, the growth of the College has been steady and 
uniform from the beginning ; and each successive period has 
been but a more advanced stage in the increase and develop- 
ment of its resources. 

In looking back upon this long period of four presidencies 



' : 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 49 

already completed, of which all, except one, were of pro- 
tracted length ; and considering the great number of classes, 
which have successively gone out from this University, it is 
grateful to know that there are still living, representatives of 
all these presidencies but the first, and that they are here 
to-day. 

It is a rare felicity to enjoy such a meeting. The under- 
graduates, who were born during the last presidency, greet 
those, this day, who listened to the instructions of Maxcy. 

Our bosoms swell with grateful emotions when we look 
upon this goodly company of Alumni, and have the proud 
consciousness that one mother bore us all ; and that she now, 
in this first gathering of her whole family, looks benignantly 
upon all her sons, and gives them her blessing. Let our , 
household affection be here revived, and the feeling of broth- 
erhood bind us together more closely than ever ; and let one 
sentiment possess all our hearts, and one resolution be formed 
in all our minds, to maintain, under all circumstances, the 
honor of the family, and to care tenderly, and provide liberally 
for our common mother, who, by her forming hand, and 
assiduous nurture and discipline, has made us what we are. 

From this historical sketch of the origin and fortunes of 
the College, now venerable with the experience of one hun- 
dred years, we perceive that it has been, throughout this 
whole period, true to its professions, to its original policy, 
and to its excellent charter. Founded, endowed and con- 
trolled chiefly by one denomination, it was designed to form 
a union with other denominations so far as was consistent 
with its leading object. There was an admirable balancing 
of interests, direct and collateral, so that a particular object 
and a general object might both be secured at the same time ; 
and the nice adjustment necessary to accomplish successfully 
this two-fold object, has always been kept in view. 

That denomination to whom the charter gives the majority 
in both branches of the corporation, were chiefly active in 
7 



50 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

raising the funds for the support of the College, in all its 
early history. By them were the first donations made 
which fixed its permanent location in this place. By them 
were its public buildings erected ; and by the agency of some 
of their number, were subscriptions obtained, both from 
their English brethren, and from many churches throughout 
the American Continent. 

This view is very suggestive to the representatives of that 
denomination at the present day. It points out for them a 
course of action too plain to be misunderstood. There is 
an obvious propriety in their addressing themselves earnestly 
to a work, which their fathers nobly began, but left unfin- 
ished. When we consider their circumstances of weakness, 
few in numbers, and not abounding in wealth, and compare 
it with what they actually achieved, we must wonder at 
their public spirit as well as wise forecast ; and if we are not 
peculiarly constituted, we shall be incited to emulate what 
we admire. Ours is a more favored lot. We all enjoy the 
liberty for which they contended. We abound in numbers ; 
and, compared with them, we abound in wealth. Justice to 
their memory requires that the object of their cherished 
affections be cared for by us, and the means of education 
which they furnished for their sons, and for those who were 
looking forward to the sacred office of the ministry, should 
be perpetuated and extended by us, according to the present 
wants of society. . 

We have, as a body, for many years, failed to do our 
appropriate work. We have, in far too great a measure, 
left the College to take care of itself. We have suffered it 
to languish for want of funds. It has not, at this day, the 
means of properly supporting its Faculty of Instruction. Not 
one of its Professors can live on his present salary. Every 
one is obliged to seek extra occupation to furnish the means 
of livelihood, or make a heavy draught on his private 
resources. It cannot be expected that the first class of 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 51 

teachers can long be retained under such circumstances. 
Professorships should be endowed, to give stability to the 
departments, and to encourage Professors to hope that the 
foundation on which they rest, while striving to build up 
a reputation for themselves and for the College, is secure. 
If the permanency of these places is uncertain ; if, at any 
day, a professorship is liable to give place to a tutorship, the 
College will be in constant danger of having its most suc- 
cessful teachers called away to other institutions where 
their talents shall be appreciated, and their services properly 
rewarded ; or of seeing them turn away from the halls of 
learning to some of those more lucrative pursuits, to which 
they are daily allured. 

Again, we need to enlarge our means of instruction, instead 
of contracting them. There is ample room for the growth 
of this College. The attendance can be indefinitely in- 
creased, if the means be furnished necessary to that end. It 
need not be, — it is not now, — merely a local institution, shut 
up within the borders of Rhode Island and parts of the 
adjoining States. We draw students, for various reasons 
not difficult to be understood, from a very large area, from 
the coasts of New England to the Upper Mississippi and 
Missouri. Scattered over all the Western States, are the 
sons of the earlier emigrants, now in easy circumstances. 
Very many of them have some ties, religious or social, which 
connect them with us. Desiring their sons to finish their 
education in the East rather than in the West, where Col- 
leges are yet in their infancy, they send them to us in all 
stages of their education. By multiplying and enlarging 
the means of instruction, making the College a centre of 
literary and scientific attraction, we may yet greatly increase 
our numbers. 

There is another class of persons, increasing steadily yet 
rapidly, every year, who, as they must, with their narrow 
means, be influenced by economic considerations, are at- 



52 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

tracted by our system of scholarships. This system might 
be enlarged with the happiest results. 

While we would not envy those more fortunate Colleges, 
which seem to have almost as many patrons as they have 
sons, lavishing their offerings upon the places of their educa- 
tion, showering legacies upon them, we would ask, — and this 
is the proper time and place to put the inquiry, — where, 
beyond a very narrow circle, are the patrons of this College ? 
Where are the men, who, in different parts of the country, 
are to take the places of their fathers in caring for the pecu- 
niary necessities of the institution reared by them ? 

The times, indeed, have changed. We do not now expect 
an Edwards to go as our agent to England ; a Gang to act 
as such in New York ; a Van Horn in New Jersey ; or a 
Smith in Charleston and Hilton Head ; — but we may, I 
think, reasonably expect that those. of their sons who have 
acquired wealth and distinction, knowing both the wants and 
the usefulness of the College, will remember the incessant 
toils and contributions of their fathers, and follow their 
praiseworthy example of self-sacrifice and liberality. 

Let it be known, from time to time, that such and such a 
friend, from a wise regard to the public good, has remem- 
bered the interests of learning amongst us, and generously 
bestowed ten, twenty, thirty, fifty thousand dollars upon 
Brown University. Why should it not be so ? Is not this 
the way in which some other Universities around us, have 
reached their present proud preeminence ? New England 
is to be the intellectual laboratory for the country. Not 
that she is to give all its education. But here, the literature 
and science of the continent, for a long time to come, are to 
have their most favored seats, from which shall proceed the 
men who are to be leaders in founding and organizing sem- 
inaries of learning in the newer States. How many of the 
higher schools and Colleges of the West, and of the South, 
are to be manned by scholars trained and educated in the 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 53 

New England Colleges ? Let this College have the honor 
of contributing its full share to this great work of national 
elevation and improvement. The public men reared here 
have not proved inefficient, either at home or abroad ; nor 
has their influence in matters of civil and religious liberty 
been dishonorable to the College, or disadvantageous to the 
country. 

We are about to open a new century. Shall it be one of 
increasing brightness for our University? Shall our suc- 
cessors, at the end of the new century, be able to give a good 
account of our doings ? 

I must revert to the idea with which I commenced, and 
say one word more to those " whom it may concern." There 
are persons who are pleased with the immutable character of 
our Charter, and would be much disturbed, if they supposed 
it could be changed. Did it never occur to them, that it 
might not be quite consistent with the highest sense of honor, 
to hold strongly to all their chartered rights, and yet leave 
to others the burden of supporting the College ? Do not 
privileges and responsibilities properly go together? Are 
not those, to whom the Charter has intrusted so much 
power, called on by every consideration of justice and honor, 
to contribute their proportion to the end for which that 
power was given? Let not this jubilee, this day of our 
rejoicing, pass, without leading to some plan of vigorous 
action in behalf of the College. 

But the same history and the same charter show that this 
is not, and cannot lawfully be, a sectarian College. Free- 
dom from all sectarian instruction, is its most characteristic 
feature. It was the wish and purpose of the originators of 
the College, that the creed of no particular sect or party, 
should enter into the course of instruction ; that persons of 
other religious denominations, whether professors or stu- 
dents, should enjoy as perfect freedom, and as ample pi'ivile- 
ges, both literary and religious, as they would if their own 



54 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

denomination had the same control, under the same limita- 
tions. And .we have jet to learn, if, in the acts of the 
corporation, or in the administration of the government, there 
has ever been any deviation from this catholic principle. 
Only one officer in the Faculty is necessarily of a particular 
denomination. In it, honorable and influential positions 
have always been given to others. Not only was the coope- 
ration of great and true men of different religious creeds an 
important object with the framers of the Charter, but the 
experience of a century serves but to confirm the wisdom of 
such a plan of union. 

We have ventured to remind one party to this complex 
arrangement, of the importance of their hearty and substan- 
tial cooperation. They cannot withhold their aid without 
seriously embarrassing the operation of the whole system. 
For the same reason, we may say to every other party to 
that arrangement, that their cooperation is equally neces- 
sary. Ours is a system like that of the human body, — 
composed of different organs. If any one member is deficient 
in vitality, all the members suffer with it. We desire not to 
alter these admirable proportions, to strengthen one compo- 
nent part at the expense of the others, but to increase the 
power of the whole by invigorating every part. 

We have said that the College is not mainly a local insti- 
tution ; we will now complete that statement, by adding that 
it is, nevertheless, local, and has great local advantages to be 
taken into account. These advantages may be multiplied 
and enlarged ; and it would be difficult to determine which 
has most at stake in the success of efforts made for this pur- 
pose, the College or the community in the midst of which it 
exists. The College needs, and, for the largest measure of 
success, must have, local patronage. It will confer, in turn, 
peculiar benefits upon the people of the place who avail 
themselves of the many and various advantages it offers. In 
contributing, therefore, to the growth and prosperity of the 
College, they both promote the interests of this city, and 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 55 

consult the general good, not only within, but far beyond, 
the boundaries of the State. This is one of those instances 
in which the greatest public good, and the most important 
local interests, perfectly coincide. I need not consume any 
time in endeavoring to convince the people of Providence, or 
of Rhode Island, that they owe much of their intellectual and 
social elevation to the influence of this College. Evidences 
of it are found in a multitude of families, whose sons have 
been trained here, and whose homes have shown the effects 
of it in a taste for literature and art, for refined and culti- 
vated society, and for all public improvement ; in the public 
and private schools, to which the University has, directly or 
indirectly, ministered no small portion of their life blood, 
making them a crowning glory of the city, and the object of 
universal admiration from abroad ; in the distinguished 
men who have adorned the Rhode Island bar and bench, and 
represented her interests in the counsels of the nation ; in the 
many sons of the University who have- occupied influential 
posts in Massachusetts and other sister States, and in the 
highest literary institutions of the country ; and in all tnose 
professions and callings where learning gives influence and 
power, and makes the possessors of it, leaders and guides in 
forming public sentiment. 

Furthermore, how close is the connection between the 
practical sciences taught in this College, and the manufactur- 
ing interests of this community ? What branch of industrial 
art is not benefited by our laboratory ? What kind of man- 
ufacture or business connected with natural or mineral 
productions, does not receive aid from the scientific gentle- 
men resident here ? 

There are clear indications of a just appreciation of all 
these advantages, by our public-spirited fellow citizens. The 
transfer of the grant of public lands, made by Congress for 
a State Agricultural College, to Brown University by the 
General Assembly, while it was the most economical ar- 



56 CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 

rangement that could be made for the State, shows a feeling 
of good will to the College, and confidence in it, which can- 
not fail to brino- the managers of the institution and the 
public nearer to each other. The more effectually this can 
be made a College for the people, the better will it be for all 
the parties concerned. The whole genius of our government, 
and of our institutions, is popular. Every American Col- 
lege that has aimed to become exclusive, has sunken into 
insignificance. The policy of all our best Colleges is to 
bring in, from the ranks of the people, as many students as 
possible ; and just in proportion as they have done this, have 
they risen in power and influence. It has furnished a 
motive for men of wealth and of patriotic feeling, to make 
liberal endowments. 

Nor have we been left without such tokens of regard, in 
our attempt to open the College more and more widely to 
the people. The contributions for scholarships and for gen- 
eral purposes, made by the business men of Providence and 
vicinity during the past year, are received, not only as an evi- 
dence of interest in the success of the College, but as a 
pledge of future support from the people themselves, as well 
as from a few distinguished patrons. That between twenty- 
five and thirty individuals could be found, most of whom 
had never before been in any way identified with the Col- 
lege, to contribute one thousand dollars apiece, to supply its 
wants and increase its influence, is one of the most pleasing 
and encouraging signs of the times. This is not, indeed, the 
first time that the people of Providence have shown their 
liberality as patrons of learning. But never before have 
contributions, fixed at this standard, come from so many 
individuals. 

In turning our eyes from the century that is past, where 
the whole scene is spread out before us in a clear light, to 
the century to come, we find our prospect covered with 
mists and darkness. What we discern in the distant future, 



CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 57 

is rather by way of prophecy than of vision. Yet, by accu- 
rately marking the feeble beginnings of former days, and 
watching their partial developments up to the present hour, 
and then considering what part remains unfinished, we can 
throw forward some feeble rays of light, even into the dense 
darkness that overhangs the future. The number of the 
Faculty, consisting, at first, of but one or two, has increased 
to ten. Instead of the one College edifice of the days of 
Manning, and of Maxcy, we have five. The Library of 
five hundred miscellaneous books, " very ancient and very 
useless, as well as very ragged and unsightly," has grown to 
thirty thousand choice volumes in the best of order. Studies 
that once entitled one to a degree, would but little more 
than secure his admission to College now. How it may be 
in 1964 is unknown to us all ; but it is not difficult to see, 
that, in a much shorter time, certain enlargements will take 
place. Professorships will be founded. Foundations for a 
higher grade of scholars will be established. Extensive 
cabinets and collections for illustrating the natural sciences 
and the useful* and elegant arts, will be furnished. The 
course of study will be elevated so as to produce a maturer 
scholarship. The number and variety of instructors will be 
increased, offering more and greater facilities for a complete 
academic education. 

New aspects of the place will present themselves to the 
eye of the spectator who shall stand upon the College Cam- 
pus. As, out of the rough and rocky hill, where Manning 
took up his abode, with nothing to obstruct his view of the 
bay, and with only a pathway leading to the neighboring 
town, an enchanting sight of public buildings, and private 
residencies, and gardens, and broad and beautiful streets, 
now meets the eye ; so, at a future day, not very remote, one 
will see the vacant plat opposite our beautiful Laboratory, 
occupied by a structure for a kindred purpose, rivalling it 
in beauty and excellence ; and in the rear of both, through 
8 



8 CENTENNIAL DISCOUKSE. 

a vista formed by them, or elsewhere, a magnificent fire- 
proof Library Building, worthy of the precious treasure 
which it is to protect. On some eminence, not far distant, 
may, perchance, be seen an Observatory pointing its huge 
telescope to the heavens. Our city itself shall extend east- 
ward, till it reach the river ; and, beyond this, shall rise 
numerous villas, fringing the town. 

Let the remaining parts of the picture be filled out by 
another hand, at some future time ; and, before withdrawing 
from this scene of our fancy, which is sure to be realized in 
some form similar to what is here sketched, let us leave a 
cordial welcome to those whom a revolving age shall bring 
to occupy our places, to the ministers and witnesses of fur- 
ther progress to be followed, in turn, by others, who, in long 
succession, shall labor with new devotion and fervor, to 
perpetuate the blessings and increase the glory of our loved 
Alma Mater. 



APPENDIX A. 

It is sometimes asked, what particular liberality there is in found- 
ing a College, in which the majority of both branches of the corpo- 
ration and the President must forever be Baptists. We answer, 
there is none. This feature of the Charter simply shows that the 
College was founded chiefly by the party named, and that it is to be 
perpetuated for their use. It may, or it may not, be liberal ; that 
will depend on other considerations. If it is open and free to stu- 
dents of other denominations, that is something ; but if that privilege 
is encumbered with the obligation to submit to sectarian instruction 
in the lecture-room, the arrangement would indicate no great stretch 
of liberality. But if the consciences of all are left perfectly free 
from party influences, and no offensive dogmas are obtruded upon 
them by their teachers, so that students of all Christian denomina- 
tions can pursue their studies without any inconvenience or annoy- 
ance, that would certainly indicate a very commendable spirit of 
liberality. If it should, furthermore, appear that such freedom was 
not the offspring of religious indifference, nor the result of a barter- 
ing spirit of compromise, but was the natural outgrowth of a cher- 
ished principle, the liberality of the provision would appear to be as 
pure in its motive as it is just in its application, or benign in its 
influence. 

Such is the spirit which dictated the . Charter of Brown Univer- 
sity. In this way, the immediate object of its founders could be 
accomplished, while, at the same time, a cardinal principle in their 
faith and policy could be illustrated. What they desired was, the 
means of giving a Christian education on catholic principles, to their 
own sons, and to all others who should wish to be educated in the 
same way. For infidels, who would be offended with such instruc- 
tion, no special provision was made. If they should choose to pur- 
sue their studies here, they would be allowed perfect freedom of 
thought ; but if they should attempt to corrupt or annoy others, they 



60 APPENDIX. 

would be removed. In the copy of the laws drawn up by President 
Manning, and adopted by the corporation in 1783, it is said: 
" Agreeably to the Charter of this College, which enacts that Chris- 
tians of every denomination shall, without the least molestation in 
the peculiarities of their religious principles, enjoy free liberty, &c, 
it is ordered, that if any student of this College shall deny the being 
of a God, the existence ot virtue and vice, — or harass and disquiet 
the minds of his fellow students, respecting any of the peculiarities 
of their Christian faith, by ridicule, sneers, scoffing, infidel sugges- 
tions, or in any other way, and shall continue obstinate therein after 
the first and second admonition, he shall be expelled from the 
College." 

It may be thought the College would have been still more liberal, 
if it had made no distinction among religious denominations. But, 
probably, few will be found who think such a course would have 
been wiser or better. If a College is to have a religious character, 
and to be decidedly Christian in its spirit, some one body of Chris- 
tians must be pledged for its support, or it will decline for want of 
interest. It cannot be expected that different religious bodies will 
take an equal interest in such an institution. There should, obvi- 
ously, be some proportion between the patronage given to a College 
by different parties, and the measure of their power in its control. 
There should also be a regard to those who are the most active in 
efforts made in its behalf, whether in the way of providing instruc- 
tion or sending young men to be educated. The men who origina- 
ted and matured the plan of the College, appear to have had a just 
and proper regard to all such considerations. There was no good 
reason for giving a disproportional share of authority to those who 
manifested but little interest and took but a very subordinate part 
in the establishment of the College. Its very existence would have 
been hazarded by such an imprudent course. 

While it was the immediate object of Mr. Manning and the men 
of his faith, to found a College for their benefit, they, at the same 
time, had a much larger design, that of securing the greatest public 
good. The latter object did not conflict with the former ; it was rather 
subservient to it. The project would be more likely to be success- 
ful with this two-fold aim, than it would with the former alone. Not 
only would the classes hereby become larger, and the class exercises 



APPENDIX. 61 

be made more spirited in the infancy of the College, but the young 
men, themselves, would have larger and more liberal views than 
they would if they associated only with men of their own creed. 
While preparing themselves for the duties of public life, they would 
be benefited by studying, side by side, with those who were to be 
their professional associates, or competitors. Such intercourse, during 
the period of youth, would cement many friendships for life, call 
forth generous sentiments, and banish sectarian narrowness and 
bigotry. 

The general principle would lead to the policy of bringing into 
the corporation and into the Faculty, as many men of other denom- 
inations as would be consistent with the main design. This would 
enable the College to select both its Board of Managers and its corps 
of instructors from a larger number of educated men, and thereby 
secure a more intelligent supervision and better instruction. 

To the special friends and advocates of religious liberty, nothing 
couW be more desirable than to be able to present to the world an 
example of Christian men of different religious views, living and 
acting together in charity, and co-operating in literary and moral 
enterprises for strengthening the foundations of society. For a cen- 
tury, such an example has been presented ; and it reflects no little 
honor upon the far-sighted and large-hearted men who planned and 
executed so noble a design. The following extract from the Charter 
will show the spirit of the men : 

" And furthermore, it is hereby enacted and declared, That into 
this liberal and catholic institution shall never be admitted any reli- 
gious tests : But, on the contrary, all the members hereof shall 
forever enjoy full, free, absolute and uninterrupted liberty of con- 
science : And that the places of Professors, Tutors, and all other 
officers, the President alone excepted, shall be free and open for all 
denominations of Protestants : And that youth of all religious 
denominations shall and may be freely admitted to the equal advan- 
tages, emoluments and honors of the College or University ; and 
shall receive a like fair, generous and equal treatment, during their 
residence therein, they conducting themselves peaceably, and con- 
forming to the laws and statutes thereof: And that the public 
teaching shall, in general, respect the sciences ; and that the secta- 
rian differences of opinions shall not make any part of the public 



62 APPENDIX. 

and classical instruction : Although all religious controversies may 
be studied freely, examined and explained, by the President, Pro- 
fessors and Tutors, in a personal, separate and distinct manner, to 
the youth of any or each denomination : And above all, a constant 
regard be paid to, and effectual care taken of, the morals of the 
College." 



APPENDIX B. 

We present an extract from a manuscript containing a rough 
draught of an introduction to the history of the College, found 
among the papers of Judge Howell. It has this address: " To all 
my worthy friends in and about that." In another hand, the word 
" Londonderry," is here written five times, as if sportively explain- 
ing the word "that;" and dated "Providence, April 12,1774." 
Everything indicates that the paper was written by Morgan 
Edwards, who lived at " Londonderry." The passage in brackets 
is crossed out in the paper, and what follows is substituted for it. 
It would seem that a Committee was appointed by the Philadelphia 
Association, to visit Newport ; and that it consisted of Rev. Samuel 
Jones and Rev. James Manning, to act under the direction of 
Rev. Morgan Edwards. That will account for the writing of 
the paragraph crossed out. But as Mr. Manning only of that Com- 
mittee, actually visited Newport at this time, accompanied by Rev. 
John Sutton, instead of Rev. Samuel Jones, it was necessary to 
alter the statement so that it might correspond with what was actu- 
ally done. That will account for erasing the name of Manning, 
and inserting it later. By this time it became apparent that the 
whole paragraph needed to be reconstructed. 

This paper furnishes explicit authority for the statement that 
inquiry was diligently made for the most suitable place for the pro- 
posed College, and that the claims of both Southern and Northern 
Colonies were considered. Other authorities imply as much. Of 



APPENDIX. 



63 



the second committee named in the paper, only Mr. Samuel Jones 
actually came to Newport, though he was accompanied by a friend. 
He, himself, says : " However, there was no one sent but myself, 
although Mr. Robert Strettle Jones was so kind as to bear me 
company to Rhode Island on the occasion." He also says in a note 
to a century sermon, published by him: " In the fall of 1763, the 
writer of these sheets repaired to Newport in Rhode Island, and 
new-modeled a rough draught they had, of a Charter of Incorpora- 
tion for a College, which soon after obtained legislative sanction." 
The following is the passage referred to : 

" Many of the churches being supplied with able pastors from Mr. 
Eaton's Academy, and being thus convinced, from experience, of 
the great usefulness of human literature to more thoroughly furnish 
the man of God, for the most important work of the gospel ministry, 
the hands of the Philadelphia Association were strengthened, and 
their hearts encouraged to extend their designs of promoting litera- 
ture in the society, by erecting, on some suitable part of this conti- 
nent, a College or University, which should be principally under 
the direction and government of the Baptists. At first, some of the 
Southern Colonies seemed to bid fairest to answer their purpose, 
there not being so many Colleges in those Colonies as the northerly ; 
but the Northern Colonies, having been visited by some of the 
Association, who informed them of the great increase of the Baptist 
societies of late, in those parts, and that Rhode Island Government 
had no public school or college in it, and was originally settled by 
persons of the Baptist persuation, and a greater part of the Gov- 
ernment remained so still, there was no longer any doubt but that 
was the most suitable place to carry the design into execution. 
[Accordingly, under the direction and care of the Rev. Morgan 
Edwards, Rev. Samuel Jones, and Rev. James Manning, {the last 
name is erased), who were sent by the Philadelphia Association on this 
business, and the Rev. James Manning, who touched at Newport, 
on his way to Halifax, a Charter was prepared and obtained from 
Rhode Island Government, for a College or University, which, 
according to the genius of the Government that granted it, is the 
most liberal and catholick one now extant on this continent, and, 
perhaps, in the world, and is as follows.] Accordingly, in the sum- 
mer of 1763, the Rev. James Manning and Rev. John Sutton, 



64 APPENDIX. 

both members of that Association, and from the Rev. Mr. Millek's 
church in Elizabethtown, in New Jersey, on their passage from 
thence to Nova Scotia, touched in at Newport and opened the 
design to some principal persons in that town, who seconded it with 
much zeal, so that a petition, signed by many of tbe most respecta- 
ble persons, of all denominations in the Government, was presented, 
together with a draught for a Charter, to the General Assembly, in 
the month of August, in which draught of a Charter, some very 
material faults were noticed by Daniel Jenckes, Esquire, member 
for Providence, and other discerning persons of the Baptist denomi- 
nation, upon which they moved that it might be adjourned to 
another meeting of the Assembly. Information of this being ob- 
tained by the Philadelphia Association, they immediately sent the 
Rev. Morgan Edwards, pastor of a church in Philadelphia, and 
the Rev. Samuel Jones, pastor of a church at South Warrynton, 
in Pennsylvania, to Rhode Island, to take care of draughting and 
obtaining such a Charter as was originally designed by the Associa- 
tion, and might best answer their extensive and valuable purposes, 
not only to their society, but to the Colony and mankind in general; 
which services, with great skill and faithfulness, they accomplished, 
which is the draught that was finally passed into a law at a Gene- 
ral Assembly holden, by adjournment, at East Greenwich in Feb- 
ruary, 1764, which, according to the genius of the Government 
which granted it, is the most liberal and catholick now extant on 
this Continent, and, perhaps, in the world, and is as follows : 



APPENDIX C. 

The following memorandum, found among the papers of Dr. 
Stiles, furnishes the key to Professor Kingsley's narrative, and 
leaves no room to suspect any want of candor on the part of the lat- 
ter : "A Charter draughted by a committee of Baptists and Pres- 
byterians, for a College in Rhode Island, was preferred to the 
Assembly, August, 1763, read and continued. After this, the Bap- 
tists deserted the Presbyterians, and prepared the same Charter, 
with the alteration of the proportions of the denominations in the 
corporation. This passed the Assembly at their session at Green- 
wich, by adjournment last Tuesday, February, 1764." 

This, like many other of Mr. Stiles's entries, is loose and inaccu- 
rate. It is not necessary to say that it is wholly false. Requested 
by the meeting, as he was, to aid the committee, he might, in a gen- 
eral way, speak of himself as one of the committee, without being 
chargeable with anything more than looseness of statement. Being 
aided by Mr. Ellery in making the draught of the Charter for the 
committee, he might, with a similar license, speak of all the persons 
concerned in preparing the Charter, as " Committee of Baptists and 
Presbyterians." Surely it is unnecessary, on account of such a dis- 
crepancy, to accuse either such a man as Mr.' Stiles, or President 
Manning, of falsehood. Of course, one or the other must have been 
inaccurate in some particulars. As a general rule in criticism, the 
more detailed account is to be used as an explanation of the more 
general one, if the two are to be harmonized ; for the particular 
statement, if wrong "in its general drift, must be a fabrication, 
whereas the more general statement may be rather partial than 
false. Again, President Manning, who was present at all the pre- 
liminary meetings, and who took part in the appointment of the 
committee, speaks from personal knowledge ; whereas, Mr. Stiles, 
who was not present at any of those first meetings, might not know 
the character and manner of his own appointment. 
9 



66 



APPENDIX. 



Furthermore, President Manning is sustained in his statements, 
while Mr. Stiles is not. Mr. Edwards, speaking of the origin of 
the College, says : " The Baptists only made the motion for it." The 
Hon. Daniel Jenckes says : " The motion for a College originated 
with the Baptists, and was intended for their use ;" " the commit- 
tee entrusted with this matter by the Baptists, professed they had 
been misled, not to say, imposed upon." Governor Lyndon 
affirmed that the original design was to have the governing power of 
the College in the hands of the Baptists. Mr. Backus says, that 
Mr. Manning came to Newport and " proposed the matter (of found- 
ing a College) to a number of Baptist gentlemen, who readily con- 
curred therewith ; and as they had a high qpinion of a learned 
Congregational minister, they desired him to make a draught of a 
Charter." 

While we find no evidence of willful fabrication in Mr. Stiles 
we meet with many random statements in his papers, and some 
prejudiced judgments. It is hardly unchai-itable to suppose that he 
had an eye to the presidency of the College, and was not at all 
pleased with that modification of his Charter which excluded him. 
When he says that Mr. Manning was " ordained at Warren," it is 
a venial oversight. When he says that he " came to Newport to 
open an academy," he states what is contradicted by all the other 
writers. The next sentence, — that " the Baptist politicians talked 
themselves into a College School," besides being a little splenetic 
and inaccurate, proves that in his view it was the Baptists who 
talked up the College. Some little feeling is betrayed when he 
says of Manning : " He was a Baptist, and was elected President 
for that reason." We will not complain of his intimation that Man- 
ning was not, at the beginning, a warm friend of the Eevolution, 
although in that he was greatly mistaken. There were two things 
which required Manning to be cautious in speaking of the relation 
of the Colonies to England. One was the fact that he was corres- 
ponding with his English friends, and not without success, about 
government interference with the persecutions from which his breth- 
ren were suffering in Massachusetts. . The other was, that he was 
begging contributions for the College from the mother country. But 
of his staunch patriotism, we need no other evidence than his own 



APPENDIX. 67 

words in 1775 : " Even the horrors of a civil war are preferable to a 
mean and base submission to arbitrary power." 

We might adduce as the strongest instance of prejudice in the 
case of Mr. Stiles, his complaint against the alteration of his 
draught of the Charter, " establishing it," as he says, " a party Col- 
lege more explicitly and effectually than any College upon the 
Continent." But we are persuaded that this rash judgment was 
thrown off in an unguarded moment of excitement, and that he 
would never have consented to its being made public. 

In regard to Professor Kingsley's account, it might appear that 
the first statement is not open to criticism, and if it stood by itself, it 
would not be. But immediately, " the project of a College," is 
spoken of as " the scheme " which was more or less " perfected." 
Now, there was, at that time, no " project of a College in Rhode 
Island " which was in any degree " perfected," except that presented 
by Mr. Manning. Of this project, it was well known " at what 
time and by whom" it " was first started." It was started in Phila- 
delphia in 1762, by Morgan Edwards, Samuel Jones and 
others, and was proposed in Newport by Mr. Manning in April, 
1763. 

" What part of the scheme, so far as perfected," belongs to Dr. 
Stiles is known with great precision. He had nothing to do with 
originating it. His clerical service was. sought as a friend, in draw- 
ing up the Charter in a proper form. The plan was given him ; 
and, as soon as it was perceived that he had deviated in one partic- 
ular from that plan, application was made to the Philadelphia Asso- 
ciation, which sent a Committee to remodel that part of the Charter. 
Mr. Samuel Jones appeared for that Committee, and Mr. Eyres 
of Newport, was associated with bin*. 

Whatever statistical information Dr. Stiles may have collected 
in respect to certain religious denominations, and whatever schemes 
he may have had of a College, these have no relevancy to the sub- 
ject in hand. It is known that the plan of the College was formed 
in Philadelphia, and that it was adopted in Newport before it was 
named to Dr. Stiles. Besides, there was no time, after Mr. Man- 
ning's arrival in Newport and before the completion of the draft of 
the Charter, to inquire into the number of churches in the Colonies, 
and in Great Britain and Ireland, in the way here represented. 



68 APPENDIX. 

It was not "according" to any such circumstances, that a Com- 
mittee was appointed to draft a Charter ; nor was the committee 
constituted as is here stated ; but it was " according " to a very dif- 
ferent class of circumstances, as President Manning testifies in his 
detailed narrative. 

These corrections are reluctantly made. Nothing but the neces- 
sity of vindicating the moral character of the founders of this Col- 
lege against an implication, innocently made, no doubt, in a book 
that is in everybody's hands, has overcome this reluctance. The 
author, were he among the living, to see the evidence of his errors, 
recently brought to light, would be among the first to repair the 
injury unintentionally done to such excellent men. Standing before 
the -Alumni of the College at the end of a century, and reviewing 
its history in my official capacity, I could not allow any part of this 
stain upon their character, never before noticed, to remain. In such 
circumstances the suppressio veri, would be as culpable as the sug- 
gestio falsi. The corrections, we are persuaded, are not only just 
in themselves, but demanded by the publicity of the unfortunate 
representation referred to. 



APPENDIX D. 

The proceedings of Dr. Stiles in the affairs of the College, do 
not stand upon the record just as we would like to see them. It 
appears that the committee told him distinctly, when they called in 
his aid, who " were to have the lead in the institution and the gov- 
ernment thereof forever ;" that they supposed the design was 
secured, and " placing entire confidence in Dr. Stiles, they agreed 
to join in a petition, — to have the Charter confirmed ;■" that it was 
afterwards found, while the subject was under discussion in the 
Assembly, that " the Charter was so artfully constructed " as to be 
utterly unsafe for those in whom it was supposed the power was 
vested. "Convinced of this, Governor Lyndon immediately had an 



APPENDIX. 69 

interview with Dr. Stiles, and demanded why he had perverted 
the design of the Charter. The answer was, ' I gave you timely 
warning to take care of yourselves,' for that we had done so with 
regard to our society,' and finally observed that he ' was not the 
rogue.' " These singular expressions can mean nothing but this : 
" I and my associate, in drawing up the Charter, took care of our 
own party ; in placing the instrument before the committee and their 
friends, we gave you opportunity to see if your interests were prop- 
erly secured ; if they were not, the fault is your own. But this was 
not a device of mine. Another person is the author of the objec- 
tionable clause." 

We think it due to Dr. Stiles to allow him the benefit of this 
disclaimer, and to give our reasons for supposing that Mr. Wai . 
Ellery was the author of the device, and the chief opponent of the 
Charter as amended. As there were but two — Dr. Stiles and Mr. 
Ellery — concerned in making the first draft of the Charter, it is 
easy to infer who the rogue was, if it was not the former. When 
Mr. Jenckes discovered the true legal import of that clause of the 
Charter, and, on that account, desired a postponement of the pro- 
posed action, Mr. Ellery was prominent among those who opposed 
the request, and urged immediate action. When the next General 
Assembly met, in October, at South Kingston, " the second Charter 
was presented and opposed by the gentry who concerned themselves 
so warmly about the other." As Dr. Stiles' was not present at 
the Assembly, it is not difficult to interpret this allusion. Mr. 
Ellery alone of those present had been concerned in preparing 
the first Charter, and he appears to have been the chief advocate 
for its immediate adoption. At the next meeting of the Assembly 
held in East Greenwich in February, 17G.4, "the new Charter was 
again brought on the carpet, and the same clamor against it was 
repeated." It was said by the opponents, that a particular denomi- 
nation was deprived of the benefits secured to them by the old 
Charter. No one knew this so well as the author of the rejected 
clause ; and probably no one contended more earnestly for it than he 
who was father of it. 

It is well known that the original Charter, which was entrusted to 
Mr. Jenckes by the Legislature, was lost during the recess ; and 
that Mr. Ellery charged him with unfaithfulness in not returning 



70 APPENDIX. 

it according to promise. Mr. Jenckes never knew what became of 
it. It is not a little remarkable, that it has, this very year, after 
having been lost to the College just a century, come to light, and 
that it is now lodged in the archives of the University. After 
sleeping for generations among the old papers of the church of 
which Mr. Stiles was pastor, it found its way back to Providence, 
where it was lost a century ago. The place of its deposit clears 
Mr. Jenckes of, the charge brought against him by Mr. Ellery. 
Into whose hands it fell after it was lent to Mr. Jabez Bo wen and 
by him to a third person, must now be a matter of conjecture. The 
most charitable view is that it was abstracted by some unknown 
person, and, in a way equally unknown, passed into the hands of 
Mr. Stiles. It is known that it reached him in some way : for we 
find it, with notes on the back, in his hand writing, and directed to 
Rev. Dr. Chauncy, of Boston, for whose eye these notes were evi- 
dently intended. The evidence that this is the original paper, and 
not a copy, is the fact that the blanks for the names were afterwards 
filled, and the names written with different ink, while the body of 
the paper is in the well known hand-writing of Dr. Stiles. This 
would not be the case, if the whole were a copy. Either Dr. Stiles 
was in an irritable mood when he appended these notes, or he was 
more bitterly opposed to the College than has generally been be- 
lieved. We would gladly believe that he cherished, in general, 
friendly feelings towards the College, as well as towards its Presi- 
dent, whose society he always prized. President Manning gen- 
erally speaks of him in language expressive of respect. In the 
matter of the Charter, Mr. Manning did not wholly exonerate 
him, though he intimates that the blame belonged chiefly to another. 
We must add, however, that Dr. Stiles did not always speak cour- 
teously of President Manning in his Diary and other private 
papers. But it is better to forget these little imperfections of great 
men, than to bring them to public view. 



APPENDIX. 71 



APPENDIX E. 

The statement made by different writers in their sketches of the 
history of the University, that, as early as the summer of 1763, more 
than a year before the first meeting of the corporation, and several 
months before the Charter was obtained, Mr. Manning removed to 
Warren, formed a church and opened a Latin School, is entirely 
erroneous. It was in the month of April, that Mr. and Mrs. Man- 
ning arrived at Newport, on their way to Warren ; and this was in 
1764. If we were to carry back the date to 1763, we should still 
have the difficulty of making his removal precede, by three months, 
his first arrival in Newport, when he was on his way to Halifax, 
which is known to be in the month of July, 1763. Such a blunder in 
dates could not be made by any one who took the trouble to inves- 
tigate the subject. Rev. Hezekiah Smith, — who, in company with 
Mr. and Mrs. Manning, left New York for Newport, April 11, 
1764, and arrived on the 13th, when Mr. Manning proceeded, 
to Warren, — says in his diary: "Saturday, April 21, 1764, I went 
to Warren with Mrs. Manning, Esquire Coles, Captain Whea- 
ton and Mr. Lillibridge." 

Even the year in which the Charter was granted, is wrongly 
given by several writers — they placing it in 1765 instead of 1764. 

One of the biographers of Manning, after speaking of his mar- 
riage -in 1763, adds: "Towards the close of the same year, Mr. 
Manning was invited by the Baptist church in Warren, Rhode 
Island, to settle with them as their pastor ; he was accordingly 
ordained, and soon after opened a Latin School in that place." This 
account, in respect to dates and the order of events, is singularly 
incorrect. There was no Baptist church in Warren at that time. 
Mr. Manning had already been ordained in New Jersey, before he 
was known in Rhode Island. Thus a part of the events took place 
before, and part afterwards, but none of them in 1763. 



72 APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX F. 

This comparison is made in no invidious or captious spirit, but 
solely for the purpose of setting forth, in bold relief, the peculiar 
features of the College planted by our fathers. These are not so 
striking when viewed in the light of the present age, as when con- 
trasted with what was common at that age, though unexampled in 
this. The blemishes, such as they were, of the two oldest New 
England Colleges, — and they are recorded unhesitatingly by their 
own historians, — belong rather to the times, than to the institutions 
themselves, or the men who governed them. None but superficial 
thinkers can speak slightingly of the men who nursed those Colleges, 
watched over them with parental solicitude, and carried them 
through their struggles for existence. The character of those Col- 
leges for liberality, now well established, and everywhere known, will 
not suffer, in the least, by this incidental allusion to what has long 
been obsolete in their history. They need no eulogy from us. In the 
biographies of their Alumni, we read no small part of the history of 
our country. And even in the earlier periods of their existence, 
when ecclesiastical questions were treated so differently from what 
they are now, there is nothing in their annals .which their sons may 
not read without a blush. 



APPENDIX. 73 



APPENDIX G. 

EXTRACTS FROM MANNING'S CORRESPONDENCE, FROM THE 
RECORDS OF THE CORPORATION, AND FROM OTHER 
DOCUMENTS. 

For the convenience of the reader, we will here set down some 
of the more important data relating to President Manning's life. 

1738, October 22, James Manning was born, in Elizabethtown, 
New Jersey, where he received his education. 

1756, at the age of eighteen, he entered Hopewell Academy, 
New Jersey, where he prepared for college, under the instruction of 
Rev. Isaac Eaton. 

1758, he made a public profession of religion, while at home, just 
before entering Princeton College. He was now twenty years old. 

1762, September 29, he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts. He 
delivered the Salutatory Oration. November 30, he was licensed 
to preach. 

1763, March 23, he was married to Miss Margaret Stites. 
April 19, he was ordained. In July, he commenced the "journey 
to the eastward," which he had purposed before his settlement, and 
reached Newport the same month. He was now nearly twenty-five 
years old. 

1764, April 13 or 14, he arrived at Warren, to form a church 
and open a Latin School. November 15, the church at Warren 
was constituted, of which he was made the pastor. 

1765, on the first Wednesday of September, he was appointed 
President of the College, at which time the College proper went 
into operation. 

1767, September 8, the Warren Association was formed at his sug- 
gestion, which held its meetings the Tuesday after Commencement. 
10 



74 APPENDIX. 

1769, September 7, was the first Commencement. 

1770, May 4, he removed, with the College, to Providence. 

1771, July 31, he was chosen pastor of " the Old Baptist Church 
in Providence." 

1786, appointed member of Congress. 
1791, July 29, his decease. 

The earliest date in the correspondence of President Manning is 
that of a letter to him from Rev. Oliver Hart, his senior by sev- 
eral years, whose acquaintance he had made at the Hopewell Acad- 
emy. The letter was written while Manning was a student at 
Princeton, in his junior year. We select a few sentences at the 
beginning of it : 

"Charleston, April 27, 1761. 
Mr Dear Friend : 

I received your kind letter of the 1st of March, ult., together with 
President Davies's sermon on the death of his late Majesty, — for 
which favors I return my most unfeigned thanks. You intimate 
that you have written rhe several letters heretofore. I have received 
only one of them, — as near as I can remember, above two years 
ago, — and to which I returned an answer by the first opportunity. 
I lament with you (and surely all the friends of Zion must mourn) 
the loss of the justly celebrated President Da vies." 

The next letter from the same person contains some important 
intimations concerning Mr. Manning's plans, between the time of 
his graduation and that of his visit to Newport and Halifax. 

" Charleston, June 20, 1763. 
Dear Mr. Manning : 

A few days ago I had the pleasure to forward a call to you, from 
this church, to come over and assist me in breaking the bread of life 
to the dear people of my charge. I hope enough has been said to 
induce you to come over to this " delightful region ;" if I may use 
your own words. Since I wrote to you last, I have received letters 
from Mr. Gano, who informs me that you are married, ordained, 
and not settled ; or that you intend a journey to the eastward befoi'e 
you settle anywhere. I assure you that this gives me hope that you 
will settle to the southward, seeing you are not yet engaged." 



APPENDIX. 



75 



The first of the letters from Manning's pen, that have been pre- 
served, is dated about three years later, and is specially interesting 
as indicating the way in which Mr. David Hoavell came to be 
connected with the College : 

" Sir : — I some time ago received a line from you by Mr. Stelle, 
in which you requested my advice relative to your destination when 
you have done with college. 1 was glad to find that you had not 
yet determined upon any place of employment, because I was desi- 
rous that you should make a visit to these parts before your settle- 
ment. But to give advice, without having some prospect of advantage, 
I should think imprudent ; and indeed the matter is important, tor if it 
should not succeed according to your wishes, you might entertain 
hard thoughts of me. However, at present it appears to me that 
.you cannot do better than to visit Rhode Island. The success Mr. 
Stelle has met with encourages me. He has a Latin School in 
the town ot Providence of nearly twenty scholars, and may have 
more if he rinds himself able to manage them. I believe he gives 
pood satisfaction, and is much esteemed by the gentlemen of the 
town. I thought when he came here that he would much more 
readily have found employ in Newport ; and although the people 
there were for making the attempt, yet he chose first to see Provi- 
dence, whither I accompanied him. They would not, however, 
consent that he should po back, but immediately employed him ; so 
that if you are disposed to keep a school, I imagine one may be 
easily obtained in Newport. I would gladly invite you to come and 
live in my family, if the infant state of our College could promise 
you proper encouragement ; but at present it is hardly to be ex- 
pected, although in the revolution of a year it will doubtless need 
more help. Upon the whole, I think if I were in your circumstan- 
ces, as near as I can judge, I should come ; and I would advise you to 
see me before you engage anywhere. A taste for learning is greatly 
upon the increase in this Colony. Mr. Stelle can give you a more 
particular account of matters in these parts, as he will be with you 
at Commencement ; and if you can get your affairs in readiness, he 
will be your company over. After telling you my family is well, 
as also your friend Stites, etc., I bid you farewell, wishing you the 
best blessings of heaven, and that I may have the pleasure of wait- 
ing upon Mr. Howell at the house of 

Sir, your humble servant, 

James Manning. 

Warren, July 14, 1766." 

The third letter, addressed to the Rev. H. Smith, relates to mat- 
ters still more important. We give it entire. 



76 APPENDIX. 

" Warren, February 12, 1770. 
Reverend Sir : — Last week I received a letter from you of the 
2d ult., in which you inform me of your success at Georgia, and 
your expectations from the South province. All your friends here 
rejoice that you succeed so well in getting the needful for the Col- 
lege. ' Great luck to you,' as said Mr. Francis in his prayer. I 
thought it strange that I had no letter by Captain Durphee from 
you or Mr. Hart, as I wrote by him to you both. Last week I 
received a letter from Nelson, at Haverill, and he gives me a 
pleasing account of matters there. Had not his modesty forbid, I 
imagine he would have told me that the people were well suited 
with him. We had another meeting of the corporation last Wednes- 
day, when there were thirty-five members present. They were called 
to consider proposals from Newport in favor of setting the edifice in 
that town, as they had raised by subscription £4000, lawful money, 
taking in their unconditional subscription. But Providence pre- 
sented £4280, lawful, and advantages superior to Newport in other 
respects. The dispute lasted from Wednesday last, ten o'clock A. 
M., until the same hour on Thursday, P. M. The matter was 
debated with great spirit, and before a crowded audience. The 
vote was put, Recede or Not? It went Not, by 21 against 14. You 
asked me in your last whether it had not raised a party in the gov- 
ernment. I answer no ; but it has warmed up the old one some- 
thing considerable. I was greatly censured by people in Newport 
for not joining to call a meeting about the first of January, and a 
great noise was made because I would not act contrary to an express 
vote of the corporation at the meeting on the 10th of November. 
But at our last meeting, the house gave me liberty to attempt a vin- 
dication of my conduct, and after hearing me through in the matter, 
they came to a vote, nemine contradicente, that they saw no reason 
why I should be blamed in this matter, and that they approved of 
my conduct. In the course of the debates there was sometimes 
undue warmth, but, upon the whole, it subsided, and all parties 
seemed much more unanimous than I expected, in after business. 
Many of the gentlemen of Newport said they had had a fair hear- 
ing, and had lost it ; but their friendship to the College remained, 
and they would keep their places, pay their money, and forward to 
their utmost the design. The College edifice is to be on the same 
plan as that of Princeton, built of brick, four stories high and one 
hundred and fifty feet long. I wish I had a draught to send you, 
but it is not in my power. They determine to have the roof on 
next fall, and to cover it with slate, as they are now able. Now if 
we can get it endowed, we shall be compos voti. This I hope you 
-.vill in part accomplish. I have thought of going to the Jersej'-s in 
the spring. If I should, I cannot go to Haverhill the first of May ; 



APPENDIX. 77 

for I must consult my westward friends in a matter of so much con- 
sequence as moving or not moving with the College. If I go to the 
Jerseys, it will probably be about the middle of April. Religion is 
upon the revival in these parts. Messrs. Stillman and Spear 
were up from Boston, and Backus from Middleborough. It is said 
that the eight ministers at the corporation meeting were all for 
Providence. This I shall not assert, however. But I believe the 
Baptist society in general are not dissatisfied at the determination. 
I could tell you a long tale if I had time, but can only tell you that 
we have twenty-three scholars, eighteen of whom are matriculated. 
Mrs. Manning joins in love to you, Mr. and Mrs. Hart, etc., with, 
sir, 

Your unworthy brother, and servant in the gospel, 

James Manning." 



In respect to his doubts about removing to Providence with the 
College, the Rev. Morgan Edwards wrote to him as follows : 

" I cannot help being angry with you when you talk of another 
President. Have you endured so much hardship in vain ? We 
have no man that will do so well as you. Talk no more, think no 
more of quitting the presidency, unless you have a mind to join 
issue with those projectors and talkers who mean no more than to 
hinder anything from being done. If you go to Providence, the 
Warren people may have a supply ; if they were willing to part with 
you, it is likely the College would have no reason to covet you." 



Dr. Stiles, in his Diary, May 3, 1770, says : "The Baptist Col- 
lege was last week, or week before, removed to Providence, and the 
Browns and Jenckes intend to turn off Elder Windsor and put 
in President Manning for their minister. Upon the corporation 
insisting . on an answer from Manning respecting his removal, he 
applied to his church and congregation at Warren, for dismission 
from his pastoral relation to them. This they utterly refused. He, 
however, the same day, answered the corporation that he would go, 
and has violently rent himself from his church." 

The next letter, written to the Rev. Dr. Stennett of London, 
has a paragraph respecting the st;itc and prospects of the College, 
at that time, June 7, 1770 : 



78 APPENDIX. 

" It was resolved, after long deliberation, to place the College 
edifice in the town of Providence in this colony, as most conducive 
to the ends of its institution. This, however, has been attended with 
considerable difficulty ; but I forbear to trouble you with the recital 
of our little affairs. The foundation of the College is now laid, and 
the building proceeds faster than could have been expected, its mag- 
nitude considered, which is one hundred and fifty by forty-six feet, 
with a projection in the middle, of ten feet on each side, for the 
public rooms. It is to be four stories high, with an entry of twelve 
feet through the middle of each, and is to be built of brick. It will 
contain fifty-six rooms in all. The town of Providence itself has 
nearly provided for the building, as they have raised by subscription 
near £4000, lawful money, at six shillings per dollar. The benefi- 
cence of a few Baptists in this place, tneir fortunes considered, is 
almost unparalleled. I should rejoice to find many elsewhere like- 
minded. We should then see the College properly endowed, as well 
as founded. This we must expect from abroad. Added to the sum 
collected by Mr. Edwards in Europe, our Brother Hezekivh 
Smith, of Haverhill, has collected and obtained subscriptions in 
South Carolina and Georgia, from whence he has just returned, to 
the amount of about £500 sterling. 

It would be happy for us if we could find in England a family of 
Hollises to patronize our College." 

Another letter from the Rev. Oliver Hart about this time, 
gives us a view of the labors of the Rev. Hezekiah Smith, of Hav- 
erhill, as agent in collecting funds for the College in the South. 



" Charleston, April 17, 1770. 
Dear Mr. Manning : 

As our good friend, Mr. Smith, is now almost ready to embark 
for your Northern clime, I embrace the opportunity of sending you 
a few lines, which I hope you will accept as a superadded token of 
my unfeigned regard. I am sorry that Mr. Smth is obliged to leave 
us so soon. His labors have been acceptable to my people univer- 
sally, and many others have constantly crowded to hear him. Some, 
I trust, have received i advantage by his faithful preaching. Two 
young men were to see. him, last night, under soul concern. May 
the good work be carried on in their hearts, and may we yet hear of 
many more being awakened to a sense of their lost state by nature. 
As to his endeavors to serve the College, they have been indefatiga- 
ble, and his success has been more than equal to What could have 
been expected, all things considered.' I am sure he has merited the 
grateful acknowledgments of the corporation. No man could have 



APPENDIX. 79 

done more, and few would have done so much as he has, to serve 
the institution. He has met with much opposition, and bore many 
reflections, hut none of these things have discouraged him. I 
heartily wish the benefactions of this province may greatly promote 
the welfare of the College. Great grace be with you. 

I am, yours, etc. 

Oliver Hart. 



A letter from Mr. Nicholas Brown, Senior, to his friend, Rev 
Hezekiah Smith, alludes to a subject mentioned in Mr. Man- 
ning's letters. 

"Mr. Edwards has gone to Carolina. I hope he may be able 
to promote the collection of your subscriptions got there, as they are 
much needed. There is nothing new here about the College. The 
lower rooms have been finished, so that the scholars have lived in 
them this winter. The enemies to the institution are doing what 
mischief they can, by discouraging scholars from coming here ; which 
fact ought to stir up every friend to exert himself to the utmost. 
Should be glad to hear of some boys coming here from your quarter. 
Mr. President is well, but his wife is poorly, with her old complaints. 
Pray let us hear of your welfare by every opportunity. 
Your most respectful and obedient servant, 

Nicholas Brown. 

The next letter of Mr. Manning was written to the Rev. John 
Ryland, of Northampton, England. 

"Providence, June 1, 1771. 
Reverend Sir: 

By the Rev. Morgan Edwards, last year, I was directed to 
draw upon you, the first of June, for five guineas, which you pro- 
posed to contribute annually to the support of the President of 
Rhode Island College, during life, if your circumstances would ad- 
mit of it. I drew accordingly in favor of Messrs. Joseph and Wil- 
liam Russell, merchants of Providence; and, according to my 
instructions, have done the like this year, in favor of the same 
gentlemen. 

Your zeal for the welfare of this young seminary, discovered in 
this as well as in many other instances, has gained for you the high 
esteem of all the true friends of the College here; but the particular 
favor done me herein has laid me under the strongest obligations o^ 
gratitude, of which I hope not to be unmindful, in any instance, when 
in my power to express a proper sense of them ; and at present I 



80 APPENDIX. 

can only do this by the strongest expressions of thankfulness, and 
fervent prayer to God that he would abundantly reward your benefi- 
cence in this and in the life to come. 

I was particularly obliged in your favoring me with the patterns 
of the regular Greek and Latin nouns and verbs, etc., and find it the 
most easy method of leading boys into a general notion of grammar 
in a short time. The College in this place consists of twenty-three 
youths, five of whom are to leave us in the fall ; though we hope to 
have some additions at that time. The institution calls for the vig- 
orous exertions of all its friends, as well on account of the smallness 
of its funds, as the unreasonable opposition made against it. The 
part I have had to act in the matter has exposed me to numberless 
difficulties hitherto ; although I am cheerful under the hopes of its 
rising, at some future period, to be the joy of its friends and the 
denomination, as well as the mortification of its ungenerous enemies." 

The following letter addressed to Thomas Llewelyn, LL. D. 
the distinguished Welsh scholar of London, we present entire, on 
account of its various topics of interest, 

" Providence, February 21, 1772. 
Dear Sir : 

lam emboldened to address you, both from the recommendation of 
Dr. Stennett to do so, and from my knowledge of your friendship 
to the College in this town, of which you would doubtless be glad to 
know the state. 

The College edifice is erected on a most beautiful eminence, in 
the neighborhood of Providence, commanding a most charming and 
variegated prospect ; a large, neat brick building, and so far com- 
pleted as to receive the students, who now reside there, the whole 
number of whom is twenty-two. We have the prospect of further 
additions ; yet our numbers will probably be small until we are bet- 
ter furnished with a library and philosophical apparatus. At pres- 
ent we have but about two hundred and fifty volumes, and these not 
well chosen, being such as our friends could best spare. Our appa- 
ratus consists of a pair of globes, two microscopes and an electrical 
machine ; to this we are desirous of making the addition of an air 
pump, if one reputable can be purchased for £22 10s. sterling; a 
sum which two young men informed me they intended to give 
towards an apparatus or library. If, therefore, it would not be too 
much trouble to inform me whether or not that sum is sufficient, I 
shall receive it as a particular favor ; for if not, we shall appropriate 
g jt to some other use. 

Our whole College fund consists of about £900 sterling, .being the 
whole sum collected abroad ; for no money collected without the col- 



APPENDIX. 81 

ony is made use of in the building;, but solely applied to endowing it' 

with the strictest regard to the donor's intent. The interest of this 
sum is quite insufficient to provide for tuition, as two of us are now 
employed, and we stand in need of further help. May we not expect 
some further assistance from our friends in England ? or must we 
conclude that the Baptists, only, are inattentive to their own cause, 
while seminaries of other denominations have the highest reason to 
extol their generosity ? or is it because we use less industry to pro- 
mote our common cause than others ? If so, what might another 
personal application to England do on this head, could we find a 
person among us, of public spirit, who could forego the mortification 
of a beggar, etc.? Mr. Edwards happened in England at a most 
unfavorable juncture, or we should have expected far better success. 
If you imagine anything considerable can be done, we shall strive 
hard to obtain some person for this purpose ; if not, permit me to 
solicit your interest, where you may be able to serve the cause. We 
have had the earliest proofs of your regard for the infant College, 
and retain a grateful sense of your unsought favors. 

I shall take pleasure in communicating any intelligence in my 
power, whenever you please to lay your commands. My present 
situation is such as will furnish me with a general acquaintance with 
the state of the Baptist society in America, especially as I have 
traveled Through the greatest part, and hold correspondence with 
some in almost all the provinces. 

The ship by which this comes is bound directly back to Provi- 
dence ; and being owned by a zealous friend of the College, any 
books, or other things, should there be anything to send from any of 
our friends, would not only come directly, but free from the expense 
which might otherwise attend them. 

The jealous eye, with which other denominations of Christians 
behold this infant seminary, leaves us without hope of any assistance 
from any but Baptists ; and I think if we could but unite, and the 
whole body lend a helping hand, we should be able, without great 
difficulty, to rear the tender plant to a degree of maturity which 
might greatly subserve the cause of religion, especially in our 
society. 

Craving your indulgence for giving you this interruption, and 
sincerely wishing you every felicity in this and a future world, I 
remain, dear sir, 

Your unworthy brother and servant in the Gospel, 

James Manning, 

A long letter of President Manning's to the Rev. Mr. Ptland, 
dated, Providence, May 20, 1773, contains passages relating to a 
topic which we should be glad to avoid ; but as it is a matter of his- 
11 






82 APPENDIX. 

tory, and relates directly to the College, the suppression of those 
passages would betray a want of historical fidelity. Our present 
condition is in happy contrast with that which is here described. 

" To give you a full detail of facts and instances of the ill will of 
persons to the College, (as Dr. Ryland had requested,) would 
require centum ora etferrea vox .•" 

" Both parents and tutors have repeatedly told me that every- 
thing except violence has been used, and almost that in some 
instances, to prevent them from sending their children here. Some 
of them have boasted that they have prevented persons from coming 
who designed it ; and few scholars come but say every obstacle has 
been laid in their way to prevent them. The characters of the 
teachers, their abilities, and the character of the place even, have 
been aspersed to the highest degree for the same purpose. But I 
should tire you to recite a small part of our ill-treatment. They 
know that the low state of the College fund requires considerable 
tuition money to support the teachers, and that that depends on the 
number of scholars. If therefore, they can prevent them from com- 
ing, they know they distress us." 

On the 25th of December, 1782, President Manning presented 
a Memorial to the corporation, of which the following are extracts. 
The document speaks for itself. 

" Gentlemen : — The present low state of the funds of the Col- 
lege, and the consequent embarrassment of this corporation in con- 
ducting and advancing the institution, are matters of too great 
notoriety to need elucidation. Any plan, therefore, which renders 
an augmentation of them probable, I presume must meet your 
warmest approbation. The only one which I can conceive can at 
present be adopted is, to appoint some person, whom you shall judge 
qualified, to solicit benefactions of whom and wheresover he shall 
think proper, for the sole purpose of endowing the College or mak- 
ing suitable provision for tuition therein, — withal assuring the donors 
that the corporation have pledged their faith that the interest only 
of the net proceeds of the money so collected, shall be appropriated, 
and that the principal shall be preserved as a perpetual fund. 

Looking around amongst the friends of the College, I can find no 
one to undertake this arduous service unless I do it myself; and 
though, at my time of life, encumbered, as I am, with the cares of 
a family, the congregation, and the College, together with the morti- 
fications which must unavoidably attend the execution, I "find it ex- 
ceedingly difficult to enter on the design ; yet my strong attachment 



APPENDIX. 83 

to the interests of the College has induced me, for the want of a 
more suitable person, in the face of every difficulty, to offer my 
services." 

" If it should be said that the state of war in which we are involved, 
the desolations of many parts of the country, the weight of taxes, 
scarcity of money, and drought of the last summer, all militate 
against this proposal, I freely grant the great force of all these argu- 
ments ; but, in my opinion, matters are come to a point, and the 
question is not whether there have not been, and may probably here- 
after be, more favorable times to collect money, but whether the 
College can be continued with any degree of reputation, without 
some speedy exertions. I confess I think it cannot, and therefore, 
necessity impels this measure. Besides, the Baptist Associations, 
held the last fall in this town and in the city of Philadelphia, lent a 
favorable ear to some proposals for augmenting the College revenue ; 
but withal concluded that the only method to succeed would be for 
me to follow them by a personal application. And I conceive the 
only time to obtain their money, is when the people are willing to 
part with it, whatever difficulty they maj r find in obtaining it. These 
proposals, however, are cheerfully submitted to your better judg- 
ment. 

At another meeting of the corporation, held January 27, 1783, the 
subject of this memorial was further considered, and the following 
extract from the records informs us of the result of their delibera- 
tions. The plan, however, was never executed. 

" President Manning laid before them a memorial setting forth 
the smallness of the College funds, and the necessity of augmenting 
them to preserve the institution from dissolution, and offered his ser- 
vices to travel abroad to solicit donations for augmenting them as 
per memorial on file; which being duly considered by the members 
present, it was agreed to recommend to the President to proceed to 
solicit donations, as soon as a proper person can be found to super- 
intend the College in his absence ; and that the Secretary make out 
for him proper credentials, sealed with the College seal and signed 
by the Secretary." 

President Manning addressed a letter "to the Hon. David 
Howell, Delegate in Congress," dated September 13, 1783, in 
which he said : 

" Our public Commencement met the highest approbation of a 
most numerous assembly, amongst whcm were the high Consul of 



84 APPENDIX. 

France, the Count Dal Verme of Milan, and several English and 
Dutch merchants, who were very liberal in their encomiums on the 
performers and performances. It is generally thought, both by the 
friends of the College and others, to equal, if not exceed, any we have 
ever had. And I am happy to inform you that it seems to have 
inspired its friends with new life. Mr. John Brown requested 
the corporation to ascertain the sum necessary to procure a complete 
philosophical apparatus and library, and offered to advance, forth- 
with, one half the sum, provided the corporation would advance, or 
find ways and means to advance, the other half. It was found im- 
practicable to ascertain this exactly. He then offered to equal any 
sum they could raise. A subscription was immediately set on foot, 
and pursued by Mr. Smith, in the town, the succeeding days, which 
amounted to better than £340 ; and will, with Mr. John Brown's, 
equal, if not exceed, £700 lawful money." 

" Messrs. Stillman and Waterhouse, with the President, are 
appointed to draft an address and petition to the King of Fiance 
for his patronage of the College, and a donation similar to that 
offered to Yale College, and forward it to you to use your influ- 
ence with the Minister of France, to get his sanction of it, and to 
point out the proper way of access to his most Christian Majesty, as 
soon as may be. And while it is preparing, I am to request you to 
feel the pulse of the Minister relative to it, and advise us accord- 
ingly. This matter is ordered to be kept a secret, and by the cor- 
poration, lest we should be interrupted. President Wheelock, on 
this business for Dartmoth College, writes that he is likely to suc- 
ceed equal to his expectations. It was also voted that Mr. William 
Van Horn should solicit benefactions to the southward of Pennsyl- 
vania, the President in the Middle States, Rev. Benjamin Foster 
through New England, and Rev. William Rogers go on the busi- 
ness to Europe. Mr. Foster I lave since seen. He informs me 
that he cannot accept his appointment. Mr. Rogers has also inti- 
mated as much to me, in consequence of the ill state of his wife's 
health, and I am again in the question for this service. The great 
objection to this is, to have the College provided for in the interim. 
All agree, if you should return at the beginning of winter, and will 
undertake, that the objection will be removed; and I wish a line 
from you on this subject, as soon as possible, as it is thought neces- 
sary to proceed to Europe this fall. In short, we are determined to 
make every possible exertion to make the College respectable if 
possible." 

The following is the address which was sent to his Most Christian 
Majesty : 



APPENDIX. 85 

" Sire : — The Rhode Island College, studious of promoting lite- 
rature, and of disseminating that kind of knowledge which tendeth 
to impress the minds of youth under their direction with such senti- 
ments of benevolence, as are circumscribed in no less bounds than 
the whole bulk of mankind, look up to your Majesty, not only as a 
friend and promoter of such knowledge, but also, like many of your 
illustrious ancestors, a patron of those arts which polish humanity 
and exalt our natures. 

With these sentiments, we regard the monarch of France, and 
with all deference beg leave to express our wishes of having a Pro- 
fessor of the French language and history in this our infant semi- 
nary, — a thing we ardently desire, but are unable to accomplish. 

Ignorant of the French language, and separated, as we were, by 
more than mere distance of countries, we too readily imbibe the 
prejudices of fche English, — prejudices which we have renounced 
since Ave have had a nearer view of the brave army of France, who 
actually inhabited this College edifice ; since which time our youth 
seek with avidity whatever can give them information respecting the 
character, genius, and influence of a people they have such reason to 
admire, — a nation so eminently distinguished tor polished humanity. 

To satisfy this laudable thirst of knowledge, nothing was wanting 
but to encourage and diffuse the French language ; and that not 
merely as the principal means of rendering an intercourse with our 
brethren of France more easy and beneficial, but also for spreading 
far and wide the history of the so celebrated race of kings, states- 
men, philosophers, poets, and benefactors of mankind, which France 
has produced. 

As no king will be held by us in so lasting and so dear a remem- 
brance, so there is no name Ave are more desirous of repeating, as the 
founder of the French language and history in this country, than 
your Majest) r 's, and that, too, as much from gratitude to your Maj- 
esty, as profit to ourselves. 

From the scarcity of French books, our youth can, at present, 
only draw their information from English writers, and not from the 
more pure source, the French themselves^ Our wish has, there- 
fore, been to procure a proper collection of the best French authors, 
and to establish a professorship of the French language and history, 
in the College of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations ; but 
such have been the obstructions to learning during the Avar, and the 
course' of education so impeded, that the edifice erected for the re- 
ception of the studious youth Avas granted by the governors of the 
College as a hospital for the troops. These, together Avith the 
calamities of the country, render it impossible for us to carry our 
design into execution respecting French literature. 

Regarding, therefore, your Majesty as a monarch endoAved Avith 



Ob APPENDIX. 

qualities that add lustre to a crown, ever ready to patronize what is 
good and useful, we presume to solicit your Majesty's assistance ; 
firmly believing that whatever tends to make men wiser, better, and 
happier wil meet with your royal assistance and encouragement. 

May the common Father of the universe bless our endeavors, and 
make your Majesty the happy instrument of raising to us the literary 
genius of France in ages past, as from the dead. May sacred and 
unerring wisdom ever be your guide, adorn you with every virtue, 
and crown you with every blessing, that future ages may commemo- 
rate the happiness of your reign with grateful admiration. 

Signed by order and in behalf of the corporation, 

Stephen Hopkins, Chancellor. 
James Manning, President. 

Proattdence, State of Rhode Island, Jan. 9, 1784. 

In a letter to Dr. Rippon, dated August 3, 1784, President Man- 
ning writes : 

" Brotherly kindness prevails more amongst the several denomina- 
tions throughout New England than heretofore, and, of course, the 
prejudices against the Baptists are greatly abated. Nothing is 
more common than the most cordial invitation; into the pulpits of 
the Pedobaptists when I travel through the country. I rejoice to 
hear that the same spirit prevails with you. Union in Christ, in my 
opinion, should lead his disciples to the strongest expressions of love 
towards one another. 

The College edifice suffered greatly by the troops, who had it in 
possession nearly six years. To repair these damages has been a 
difficult task, while denied compensation from the public, and desti- 
tute of funds for that purpose. The members of the corporation 
have repeatedly submitted to make such partial repairs as were 
absolutely necessary to its preservation. With all these difficulties 
to combat, it begins, however, again to revive. It now consists of 
twenty -two members, and we expect an addition of several more this 
falL Mr. Howell, my former colleague, has been for several years 
in the civil departments, and is now in the Continental Congress, 
where he has been upwards of two years. Mr. Asher Robbins, 
an alumnus of Yale College, in Connecticut, is now a Tutor." 

" I forgot to mention that the Hon. Joseph Brown, a member 
of the corporation, a philosophical genius, was at our last meeting, 
chosen Professor of Experimental Philosophy in this College; and 
Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, M.D., of Leyden, was chosen Pro- 
fessor of Natural History, — both of whom engaged to give lectures 
in their respective branches, without any expense to the College, 
while destitute of an endowment." 



APPENDIX. 87 

We have some interesting details in a letter written by Man- 
ning, to the Rev. Dr. Caleb Evans, September 13, 1784. 

" Enclosed, is the catalogue of all the books now belonging to the 
College. Nearly one half of them have their bindings much broken, 
as they were old when presented. Besides the enclosed, we have 
ordered out from London, this fall, about fourteen hundred volumes." 

"The above mentioned fourteen hundx-ed volumes are a donation 
from our Treasurer, John Brown, Esq., of Providence. The 
amount of two hundred pounds sterling was also ordered to be 
expended in the purchase of necessary philosophical apparatus, in 
addition to what we already have, consisting chiefly of- a telescope, 
an air-pump and its apparatus, globes and a thermometer. The 
money for this order was subscribed by other members of the corpo- 
ration last fall." 

" At the commencement of the war, the College was in a growing 
state. The number of students was about forty, and there was a 
good Latin School in the edifice. In 1776, it was delivered up, or 
rather taken possession of, by the troops, as a barrack and hospital, 
and continued to be occupied by the militia, Continental and French 
troops, and seamen, until June, 1782. During this period, the house 
sustained great damages, for which we have received no compensa- 
tion yet, nor have we much prospect of it in future. This has 
thrown a heavy burden on the corporation, and greatly embarrassed 
them in making the necessary repairs, especially as our fund is 
small. This we have made many efforts to augment by collections, 
etc., in this country, but to so little purpose, that our whole fund 
produces but about sixty pounds sterling per annum. The distressed 
and exhausted state of the country by war, leaves us little room soon 
to hope for much from this quarter, especially as money has become 
so scarce that our people in this country, although possessed of 
property, cannot command sufficient to pay their taxes. We are 
unwilling, however, to relinquish our design, as it is evident that the 
institution has already greatly contributed to the perpetuity of our 
denomination, and begins again to attract the public attention. The 
number of students already in College, and of those we expect in 
the course of the fall, is upwards of thirty. In teaching, I have the 
assistance of one tutor. A small Latin school is kept up in the Col- 
lege. Any services you can render in endowing it, will be most 
acceptable to the corporation." 

To the Rev. Thomas Ustick he writes, March 4, 1785 : 



85 APPENDIX. 

" The state of the College is as promising as we could reasonably 
expect. Our number is thirty-one, and more are expected to enter 
this spring. Mr. John Brown is about finishing the third story, 
which we expect to want in the course of this year, if those whom 
we expect shall come. I believe our students are as orderly, indus- 
trious, and as good scholars as at any one period of the institution. 
One tutor is all the assistance which I have at present, Mr. Rob- 
bins, from Connecticut, who gives good satisfaction." 



The reasons for his consenting to be a delegate in Congress, are 
given in a letter to Dr. Evans, under date of April 7, 1786. 

" The College consists of upwards of fifty members, and would 
flourish greatly were it not for the scarcity of money in this country, 
which exceeds description. This scarcity peculiarly affects us. The 
appropriation of the edifice to public uses during the war was pro- 
ductive of great damage to it, for reparation of which, as well as for 
the rents, the corporation sent me last year to Congress, with 
the state of our accounts and claims, and sufficient vouchers. We 
obtained a hearing before a committee appointed to report on the 
subject of the petition, and obtained a favorable report, but lost it 
before Congress when the report was acted upon. Our late Profes- 
sor Howell was then a member, and had great influence ; but as 
he had effectually opposed some continental measures, he thinks the 
question was lost by that means, together with the small number of 
the states on the floor. By the articles of the confederation, he is 
not again eligible for three years ; nor could we find any man, prob- 
ably, to be chosen, who would deeply interest himself for the College. 
This induced me, at his earnest importunity, together with his giving 
the greatest encouragement that a grant might be obtained, to accept 
the unanimous appointment of our Legislature, at their late session, 
as their first delegate in Congress till next November, — an appoint- 
ment to me most unexpected, as I had considered politics out of my 
province, and on that account had declined a former nomination to 
that office. The interests of the College lay near my heart, and the 
necessities of it call aloud for the exertions of all its friends. . I 
thought proper to give you these hints, lest upon hearing of my be- « 
ing in Congress, you might think I meant to assume the political 
character ; than which, in general, nothing is more remote from my 
intentions, notwithstanding the great importunity of many of the 
Legislature for me to continue in the office. I hope the College and 
congregation will be well provided for during my absence, and I do 
not doubt it from the arrangements made." 



APPENDIX. 89 

The pecuniary condition of the College at this time, may be 
learned from a letter of Mr. Nicholas Brown, Senior, addressed 
to his friend, the Rev. Dr. Smith, November 9, 1786, a litttle after 
President Manning's return. 

" Mr. Manning arrived here early in this month, so that we have 
been destitute of a supply for the pulpit only two or three Sabbaths. 
The corporation were put to the necessity of beginning College ex- 
ercises with the new tutor, young Mr. Flint, several days after the 
scholars had arrived, Mr. Robbins having been detained at New 
London, waiting for a passage, until after Mr. Manning left. The 
worst of all is, that we are still destitute of a Steward, several hav- 
ing applied for the place who were not judged suitable, and several 
having been applied to who have declined. The want of some offi- 
cer of College to attend the place of the institution, will, I fear, be 
a disadvantage. But the badness of the pay heretofore, and the 
scarcity of money, the paper currency, and the confused state of law 
and justice, both in your State and in our own, where the scholars 
come from, are real difficulties. The fact, too, that the students are 
obliged to board out, instead of boarding in commons, has greatly 
increased the expenses. Yet, I believe, if due attention is paid by 
the officers, we shall have many students in, at least by next Com- 
mencement." 

After bitter complaints that the State would pay him for his ser- 
vices only in their depreciated currency, which had " run down to 
six for one," so that he must loose five-sixths of the salary due him, 
amounting to more than four hundred dollars, Mr. Manning gives 
a sad picture of his pecuniary condition and prospects, betraying a 
not unnatural depression of spirits. 

"Of all the arrearages of tuition for the last year, and the quarter 
advanced in this, I have not received ten pounds. I was taken sick 
the day after the second great snow, witli no provi.-ions in the cellar 
except one hundred-weight of cheese, two barrels of cider, and some 
potatoes ; with not a load of wood at my door ; nor could I command 
a single dollar to supply these wants. The kindness of my neigh- 
bors, however, kept me from suffering. But when a man has hardly 
earned money, to be reduced to this abject state of dependence re- 
quires the exercise of more grace than I can boast of. I feel for 
you in the situation which you mention, but it is a very trying time, 
and few of our ministering brethren are exempt from those trials. 
Nor would it probably be easy for you to better yourself. I have 
serious thoughts of removing to the farm at the Jerseys, and under- 

12 



90 APPENDIX. 

take digging for my support. Should things wear the same unfa- 
vorable aspect next year, I believe I shall make the experiment, if 
my life is spared. 

The College consists of about the same number as it did before 
Commencement, but the delinquency of the students in paying their 
bills, must, if not altered, break up the College, as the affairs cannot 
be supported, especially as all assistance from our fund is cut off, if 
indeed it is not totally annihilated, which I greatly fear from the 
temper of the times." 

The expense of living in College at that time, is mentioned in 
a letter to Dr. Smith, written February 11, 1788. 

" The College continues gradually to increase. The expense of 
boarding in commons, tuition, room-rent, and library and apparatus 
privileges, granting one fourth of the year for vacations, amounts to 
just £20 5s. 9d. lawful money, (about sixty-eight dollars,) at present, 
but I expect the commons will be lowered as soon as stability in gov- 
ernment takes place, — a period I now hope not far distant. Wood 
is about twelve shillings per cord ; and other incidental expenses as 
moderate here, or more so, than at Dartmouth. Two of our young 
men, the Commencement before, were at Dartmouth, Gov. Bowen's 
son and Mr. Nicholas Brown's son, who made particular inquiry, 
and they assure me that the expense of living equally well was 
greater there than here." 

In this connection we introduce the following extract : 

Mr. Ezekiel, afterwards Judge Whitman, "in 1791, offered 
himself at the door of Brown University, and was freely received. 
This College had been in operation twenty-six years. The first 
President, Dr. Manning, ceased from the presidency and from life, 
and the next year was succeeded by the learned Dr. Maxcy. 
The standard of education was, at that time, low in all our Colleges, 
as was also the scale of expense, in comparison of both at the pres- 
ent day. The tuition at Brown University was six pounds lawful, a 
year; the charge for board, sweeping room, and making the bed, was 
six shillings eight pence a week ; a load of wood, six shillings eight 
pence, and candles, nine pence a pound. The cost of books for the 
whole College course, need, as a manuscript letter of a deceased 
scholar informs me, not exceed three pounds. The same letter 
observes, ' The studying weeks are thirty-nine in a year, but if a 
scholar will study at home, he need not be here more than two-thirds 
of that. I think that twenty pounds per annum, might largely 



APPENDIX. 91 

defray all the necessary expenses, and that the scholar might keep 
school every winter to earn some part of that.' The letter referred 
to, was written by Martin Parris. He graduated at Brown Uni- 
versity, in 1790. The class into which Mr. Whitman entered num- 
bered twenty-six members, and »vas the largest which graduated at 
the College until 1802." — History of the Law, the Courts, and the 
Lawyers of Maine, by William Willis, pp. 291 and 292. 

The following reference to the two young men who afterwards 
became Presidents of the College, is not without interest. It is found 
in a letter of Manning to Dr. Smith, of November 18, 1790. 

" Yours of the 25th ult. is before me. The tide of business which, 
on my return home, flowed in upon me, prevented my recollecting 
the case of Mr. Messer. But in my journey to the West. I had 
him constantly in view, but found no opening which I thought wor- 
thy his attention. Mr. Read, from Virginia, has not returned, nor 
have I had any intelligence from him respecting a chance for teach- 
ing ; so that I cannot, at present, give any encouragement from this 
quarter, as it was the general opinion that it would be imprudent for 
him, all things considered, to take a place in College, till the present 
Senior class are out of the way. We have appointed a Mr. Lyndon 
Arnold to that office for the present, who has no thoughts of con- 
tinuing more than a year. If Mr. Messer should not fall into bet- 
ter business by that time, it would be very agreeable to me to have 
him for an assistant ; and sooner, should Tutor Maxct leave us, 
which lie talks of, though I shall reluctantly agree to it. He has, 
with great persuation, consented to supply the pulpit for six months, 
and does it to great acceptance lie has many hearers, and his 
labors appear to be owned. He improves amazingly." 

His last letter, of June 4, 1791, will be read with a melancholy 
interest. It begins thus : 

"Yours of February 15th ult. came to hand three months to a 
day after it was written, so that we now stand on even ground. As 
you say of mine, it met a welcome reception. I am sorry it has 
not been in my power to provide for Mr. Messer, agreeably to 
my wishes and ideas of his merit. There will be an opening at 
Providence for a tutor in the fall ; but Mr. Alden, of senior stand- 
ing, appears to incline to fill the place. If so, there will be an open- 
ing at Taunton in the academy which he will leave. I hope that 
Mr. Messer will be accommodated at one or other of these berths. 
Please to present my best respects to him, and tell him he shall have 



92 APPENDIX. 

my interest. Ere this comes to hand, the news of the departure of 
our two good friends, Messrs. John Jenckes and Nicholas 
Brown, must have reached you. Providence, church, and society 
are bereaved indeed. But Jesus lives, and lives to support his cause 
when earthly supporters fail. 

The affairs of the College do not prosper as I could wish. With 
the twenty-two who graduated last fall, we have lost twenty-nine 
this year, which is a great defalcation from our small number. 
More are about to come soon, but I think it will be some time before 
we shall make the number of last year good. Our number is about 
fifty-five." 



EXTRACTS FROM RECORDS OF THE CORPORATION. 

" At a meeting of the corporation for founding and endowing a 
College or University, within the colony and Providence Plantations, 
in New England in America, held at Newport the first Wednesday 
in September, 1 764, the following gentlemen, having qualified them- 
selves by taking the oath prescribed by their Charter, were present :" 

" The Honorable Stephen Hopkins, Esq., was chosen Chan- 
cellor ; John Tillinghast, Esq., Treasurer ; Thomas Eyres, 
Secretary." 

"preamble for receiving subscriptions." 

Whereas, the Governor and Company of the English Colony, 
&c, — have incorporated certain persons — into a body politick, &c. ; 
And Whereas, a sufficient number of the persons so appointed have 
qualified themselves agreeable to said Act, and are taking the most 
probable measures for forming so useful and honorable an Institu- 
tion, which will necessarily be attended with considerable expenses ; 
We, therefore, the subscribers, sensible that nothing hath a greater 
tendency to adorn human nature, and to promote the true interest 
and happiness of mankind, than useful literature, do, in considera- 
tion thereof, promise, &c." 



APPENDIX. 93 

" The Chancellor and Secretary were appointed to sign the cer- 
tificates authorizing particular persons to receive subscriptions. 

The Charter of Incorporation was decided to be inserted in the 
beginning of the Records of the Corporation, and there duly authen- 
ticated. 

The following [sixty-nine] gentlemen were appointed to receive 
subscriptions for the use of this Institution. 

The Hon. Joseph Wanton, Hon. Samuel Ward, James Hon- 
yman, Esq., Rev. Edward Upham, Rev. Gardner Thurston, 
and Mr. Edward Thurston, Junior, were appointed a committee, 
they, or the major part of them, to transact the necessary business 
of the corporation, during their recess. And it was particularly 
recommended to them to appoint suitable persons to receive sub- 
scriptions, to draw up a proper form for making donations to the 
College by deeds and will ; to write to Mr. Smith, for his interest 
in the affairs of the College ; to provide a seal for the use of the 
corporation ; to assist in digesting the proceedings of the corporation 
for recording ; to provide books for taking subscriptions. 

This corporation adjourned to the last Wednesday in April, 1765, 
but did not meet according to their adjournment." 

SECOND MEETING. 

"At a meeting of the corporation for founding and endowing 
a College or University [this designation of the object of the corpora- 
tion is hereafter dropped] &c, held at Newport the first Wednesday 
in September, 1765. Present, [twenty-five.] The corporation 
proceeded to fill up the [twenty-one] vacancies, in their respective 
branches. Rev. James Manning was appointed President, &c. — 
A seal for the College was ordered to be procured immediately by 
the Reverend Samuel Stillmin. Mr. Nicholas Brown was 
appointed to receive subscriptions. The Reverend John Gano was 
requested and authorized to receive subscriptions in any part of 
America. The Reverend Hezekiah Smith, of Haverhill, and 
Mr. Solomon Southwick, of Dartmouth, were appointed to re- 
ceive subscriptions. The Honorable Samuel Ward [and six 
others] were appointed a committee to transact the necessary affairs 



94 APPENDIX. 

of this corporation during their recess." Such a committee was 
appointed annually. 

At the third meeting of the corporation, held at Newport the first 
Wednesday in September, 1767, little business was transacted, 
except that which was merely formal. This was the meeting at 
which the President's conduct was approved, in engaging Mr. Da- 
vid Howell as a tutor. At the next meeting, " held at Newport, 
on the first Wednesday in September, 1768," "Mr. Daniel How- 
ell was elected a tutor of the College, with a salary of £72, lawful 
money, and was authorized to collect the tuition money as it became 
due, as a part of his salary. The sum of £23, lawful money, was 
ordered to be paid to Mr. Manning by the Treasurer, for the board 
of his assistant." " The President was authorized and requested to 
write to Mr. Edwards [then in England,] to purchase an Air- 
Pump, a Telescope, a Microscope, and also such books as he shall 
think necessary at this time, not exceeding twenty pounds value." 

" The Honorable Josias Lyndon [and six others] were ap-? 
pointed a committee to examine what place is most suitable to fix 
the College edifice upon, and to make report at the next annual 
meeting. The next annual meeting [the sixth] of the corporation 
was ordered to be held at Warren. Ordered, that the Secretary 
notify the members of the corporation of their next annual meeting 
at Warren, six weeks, successively, previous to their meeting, by an 
advertisement in the Newport and Providence Newspapers, and at 
which time 'tis proposed to take into consideration a proper place 
for erecting a College edifice upon." 

At the meeting held at Warren, September 6, 1769, after some 
routine business, it was " Ordered, that the Reverend President be 
paid fifty pounds lawful money, by the Treasurer, out of the inter- 
est of the moneys remitted from Europe, as an allowance, in part, 
for his services." This is the only allusion in the records thus far, 
to the President's salary. 

" Corporation adjourned to 7 o'clock to-morrow morning." 

" Resolved, that the Honorable Stephen Hopkins [and three 
others] be a committee to wait on the General Assembly of this col- 
ony, and present a petition to them to assist this corporation." 

The committee " appointed to consider the most suitable place to 



APPENDIX. 95 

erect the College edifice on," reported : " We are of opinion that 
said edifice be placed in some part of the county of Bristol, and that 
a committee be appointed to point out such a place as shall be most 
convenient, and that may be had on the best terms. Whereupon, 
Voted, that Sylvester Childs, Esq., Mr. John Brown, Captain 
John Warren, and Mr. Nathan Miller, be a committee to pur- 
chase materials, agree for a suitable place to erect the edifice on, to 
take a deed of the same in behalf of the corporation, and to carry 
said building into execution as soon as they can." 

" Voted, that Mr. David Howell be, and he hereby is, elected 
and appointed Professor of Philosophy in this College." 

" The corporation then adjourned to 7 o'clock to-morrow morning.' 
" The Rev. Morgan Edwards presented his account with this 
corporation :" — 

"Rhode Island College to Morgan Edwards Dr. 

To sundries and account rendered . . . £896 16s. 6d." 

"Resolved, That the Honorable Stephen Hopkins, Esq., Mr. 
Joseph Brown, and the Rev. John Davis be a committee to 
draught instructions and prepare a model of the house proposed to 
be erected." 

The committee reported, among other things, " That the building 
do not exceed sixty-six feet long and twenty-six feet wide, and three 
stories high ; that it be a plain building, the walls of the best bricks 
and lime, the doors and window-frames of red cedar ; that there be 
a cupola for a bell ; that the first building be so situated as to be one 
wing ot the whole College edifice when completed." 

' r Voted, That the certificate presented to this corporation by the 
Rev. Morgan Edwards, be recorded, which is as follows, viz : — 

' Whereas, a law of the College (made at Newport, September 1, 
1768) secures the money raised in Europe for the purpose for which 
it was intended by the donors, this certifies that their design was, 
that the interest thereof should forever go to pay the salary of the 
President. 

Morgan Edwards. 
Warren, September, 7. 1769.'" 



96 APPENDIX. 

" Voted, That the Rev. Hezekiah Smith be desired by this cor- 
poration to solicit benefactions for their use, in the Southern and 
"Western Provinces, on this continent or elsewhere, and that suitable 
credentials be given him for that purpose, signed by the Chancellor 
and President, with the seal of the corporation annexed. 

The committee to examine the Reverend President's accounts, 
reported : — 

"That the said President hath served the society for three years 
past, and hath received no compensation for the same, and as, by a 
vote of the corporation passed on the 6th inst., the sum of fifty 
pounds lawful money, was ordered to be paid the Reverend Pres- 
ident ; — we do report it as our opinion, that the said sum is an inad- 
equate reward for his services." 

A special meeting of the corporation was held at Newport, 
November 14, 1769, pursuant to the following call: — 

" This is to notify the members of the corporation of the College 
within this colony, that application has been made by the gentlemen 
of the County of Kent, setting forth that they have opened a sub- 
scription for founding and endowing said College, on condition that 
the edifice be erected in the County of Kent ; and desiring an oppor- 
tunity of assigning their reasons to the corporation, for a reconsidera- 
tion of their vote at their last meeting, for erecting the edifice in the 
County of Bristol : This is, therefore, to desire all the members of 
the said corporation to meet at the Court-House at Newport, on 
Tuesday the 14th of November next, at 10 o'clock A. M., to hear 
such propositions as shall be laid before them, relative to placing 
said edifice, and transacting any other necessary business ; at which 
time and place the gentlemen concerned in procuring subscriptions 
for the different places, are desired, by themselves or their commit- 
tees, to appear, present their several subscriptions, and offer their 
reasons in favor of the respective places. 
By order, 

Thomas Eyres, Secretary. 

Newport, October 18, 1769." 

On the second day of the meeting, November 15, it was " Re- 
solved, to recede from the vote of the last meeting to erect the Col- 
lege edifice in the county of Bristol." 



APPENDIX. 97 

On the third day, November 16, a provisional arrangement was 
made for fixing the place for erecting the College edifice, the corpo- 
ration reserving the right to alter their decision, " if such order be 
given before the first day of January next, or if a larger subscrip- 
tion than any now offered, be raised in the County of Newport or 
elsewhere." It was then " Voted, that the College edifice be at 
Providence." It was also ". Voted, that the President, Job Ben- 
net, Esq., Mr. John Brown, Mr. John Warren, and Mr. John 
Jenckes, be a committee to fix a suitable place for building the 
edifice." "That the Chancellor, Mr. John, Brown, Mr. John 
Warren, and Sylvester Child, Esq , be a committee to carry 
on the building of the College edifice. And that these two commit- 
tees ascertain the model and bigness of the College edifice, and also, 
for the House of the President." 

January 13, 1770, the following citation was issued : 

" Whereas, the County of Newport hath raised a larger sum than 
any that hath yet been offered to the corporation of the College, in 
this colony, to be paid to the Treasurer, upon condition that the 
College edifice be erected in the town of Newport : This is, there- 
fore, to notify the members of the said corporation to meet together, 
at Warren, on Wednesday the 7th day of February next, at 10 
o'clock A. M., to take into consideration any propositions that may 
be made for placing the College edifice, and to transact any other 
necessary business." The corporation met accordingly. 

" President Manning, having complained to this corporation that 
his character hath been injuriously traduced and ill-treated, because 
of his having refused to sign an advertisement on the 30th of Decem- 
ber last, for convoking a corporation meeting, to receive and con- 
sider the proposals from the town of Newport, for placing the 
College edifice : It is, therefore, Voted and Resolved, that this 
corporation is of opinion, that the President hath acted with impar- 
tiality and integrity, and he is accordingly acquitted from any 
censure." 

The second day of the meeting, February 8, 1770, "The gen- 
tlemen who appeared for having the College edifice in the town of 
Providence, produced the following subscriptions and securities," 
amounting to £4173 10s. Then the gentlemen who appeared as 

13 



98 APPENDIX. 

managers for the Town and County of Newport, produced the fol- 
lowing securities for money, on condition the College edifice be 
erected in the town of Newport," namely, three bonds for sums 
amounting to £3550. 

" When it was ascertained that the unconditional subscriptions from 
Providence were included in the security," amounting to nearly 
£800, " the said managers for Newport delivered to the corporation 
a promissory writing for the sum of £508 14s., being the amount of 
the unconditional subscription from Newport ; — also a bond for 
£500." "Then the managers for the Town and County of Provi- 
dence produced and delivered to the corporation, a subscription for 
the sum of £226 3s., conditioned that the edifice be built in the 
Town of Providence, which sum added to the aforesaid subscrip- 
tions, amount to £4101 3s." It will be perceived that there is some 
error, either in the statements or in the reckoning, and that the 
subscriptions from Providence amount to £4399 13s., instead of 
£4101 3s. 

Furthermore, according to the record, the Newport subscription 
amounts to £4558 14s., while that of Providence amounts to only 
£4399 13s. There is a curious entry relating to this subject in the 
Diary of Dr. Stiles, January 3, 1770, a little more than a month 
before this meeting was. held. It shows the state of feeling, at New- 
port, though it does not remove the discrepancy. He says : " Dr. 
Eyres visited me this morning, to discourse about the place of the 
Baptist College. He tells me that Providence has subscribed 
£3090 lawful money, of which about £2200 is truly conditioned that 
the College edifice be erected there ; but, of the £800 they had before 
subscribed unconditionally, they had the subscription papers for 
£300 in their own hands, and refused to deliver them, — holding, in 
this manner, about £2500 conditioned. Dr. Eyres said that the 
Newport subscription was about $9000 [£2700], but said they did 
not choose to mention the amount exactly, nor how much condition- 
ally. The case is this: Mr. Redwood and some others have said 
they would give largely, in case it was here ; but that Providence, 
by artifice and stratagem, would, in event, get it there ; and yet, 
would not subscribe, but will undoubtedly give liberally. So there 
is a real uncertainty. They are endeavoring to get a meeting of the 
corporation, but Providence opposes it. Mr. Manning, the Presi- 



APPENDIX. 



99 



dent, is for Providence." President Manning's account that New- 
port " raised by subscription £4000,— but Providence presented 
£4280," tbough written but four days after the meeting, so fur from 
explaining the matter, increases the confusion. Only two things are, 
beyond all question, true: the one is that human nature was about 
the same a hundred years ago that it is now ; the other is, that the 
College was " placed " in Providence, ther,e to be " continued 
forever." 

The courtesy shown to the church at Warren, by the corporation, 
in appointing a committee to " treat with the congregation of which 
the President is pastor, and to inform them of this request ["to go 
with the College to Providence"] and endeavor to procure their 
consent to his removal," was, we fear, not duly appreciated ; for 
when he left his church, notwithstanding their positive refusal to 
give their assent, they, according to the records of the church, seri- 
ously contemplated putting him under discipline. We copy from 
the records the following: "February 4, 1770. This evening 
the church met and had a conference with Mr. Jajies Manning, as 
they had once before within three months, to know whether he was 
determined to leave the church, and follow the College to Providence ; 
and he satisfied the church that he would not. But it was requested 
of him that, if he should alter his mind, he would give the church 
timely notice, and he promised he would give them timely notice. 
But, April 25, the corporation met, and the next morning he gave 
his answer to serve as President of the College at Providence, and 
removed the 4th of May, without calling the church together to 
acquaint, or advise with them, which doing of his is contrary to his 
promise with the chnrch." 

May 31. The church met, as usual. Treating about Mr. Manning 
leaving the church, it was agreed that brother Ebenezer Cole> 
should write to Mr. Manning, to come to our church meeting the 
last Thursday of June next, to give his reasons why he left the 
church. 

June 28. The church met, as usual ; Mr. James Manning came ; 
but gave the church no satisfactory reason why he left the church 
destitute of a Pastor, or Elder. " 

We learn from other sources, that Mr. Manning preferred to re- 
main with the church, and to resign the Presidency ; but that his 



100 APPENDIX. 

influential brethren from abroad would not listen to such a proposal ; 
and that, finally, the Corporation required him to decide the question 
without delay. It is evident that the church would not be satisfied 
with anything short of retaining their Pastor ; and that the good 
President, standing between two pretty hot fires, could not get out 
of the flames of the one, without being burnt by the other. He 
was undoubtedly conscientious in what he did ; and would ex- 
plain his action somewhat differently from what is done in these 
records. 

Dr. Stiles, says, in his Diary, Feb. 23, 1770. "Mr. Ellert 
came to discourse about the charter of another College, on the plan 
of equal liberty to Congregationalists, Baptists, Episcopalians, 
Quakers." And April 1, 1770, he adds, " There is now pending 
before the General Assembly of Rhode Island, a petition for a char- 
ter for a College here in Newport, since the first Rhode Island 
College is fixed at Providence. College enthusiasm ! '' 

At the next meeting of the Corporation, held at Warren, April 
25, 1770, it was "Resolved, that this Corporation make application 
to the General Assembly, and pray that a Petition now before the 
Assembly, for granting a Charter to another College may be rejected.' 
At the adjourned meeting held the next day, April 2G, it was 
" voted, that the President of the College be allowed [evidently on 
account of being removed from his church,] a salary of £100, 
lawful money, per annum, out of the Corporation Treasury, and 
that the time of pay be computed from last Commencement." It was 
also " voted, that this Institution be removed to Providence, and that 
the students, at their return after this vacation, assemble there with 
their proper officers. A committee was appointed " to hire a suita- 
ble habitation for the President in Providence, till one can be built 
for him, and that it be at the charge of the corporation." 

Of the town of Providence, about this time, Dr. Stiles made the 
following entries in his Diary: "Nov. 13, 1771. The town of 
Providence is 500 dwelling-houses and about 4,000 inhabitants, or 
half as big as Newport." — "Aug. 25, 1772. The town of Provi- 
dence is now, 1772, about 400 houses, 500 families. — I estimate 
100 families real Baptists ; 140 political Baptists and nothingarians ; 
140 Mr. Snow's Congregation, § Baptists, | Presbyterians ; 60 



APPENDIX. 101 

Pedobaptist Congregationalists ; 40 Episcopalians ; 20 families 
Quakers, a few Sandemanians, and about 20 or 40 persons Deists." 

The next annual meeting was held in Providence, Sept. 5 and 6, 
1770, at which it was " voted, that the accounts presented by the Rev. 
Hezekiah Smith, of the donations and subscriptions by him re- 
ceived in the Provinces of South Carolina and Georgia be accep- 
table, and that the Corporation highly approve of his conduct, and 
return him their hearty thanks for his great and generous services : 
— voted also, that as Mr. Smith was long absent from his people, 
in the service of the corporation, and as his salary during that time 
would have amounted to £66, 13s 4d, [$222,20], the Corporation, 
would willingly make up the same to him ; but as he generously re- 
fuses to receive anything on that account, more than a remission of 
his subscription of $40 to the College, the said subscription is ac- 
cordingly remitted." 

At the same meeting it was " voted, that the children of Jews 
may be admitted into this institution, and entirely enjoy the free- 
dom of their own religion without any restraint or imposition 
whatever," and "that the Rev. Mr. Edwards be desired to con- 
tinue his correspondence with the benefactors to this Institution, in 
England, in the name of the Corporation." 

Sept. 5, 1771, it was "voted that the Rev. Francis Pelot, of 
South Carolina, be appointed and requested to collect the subscrip- 
tions at Hilton Head, and to assist Mr. Williams in collecting 
those made in Georgia, and also, to solicit such further donations as 
he shall be able to procure." 

Sept. 3, 1772. "Voted. That the Hon. Chancellor [and four 
others] be a committee to consider who may be a proper person to 
solicit donations in Europe, and if the Reverend President should 
be thought most suitable for that purpose, then to consider by whom 
the place of President may be supplied during his absence. " 
" Whereas, a sum of money is immediately wanted to defray the ex- 
pense of slating the College edifice, it is resolved, that the Rev. 
John Gano be appointed to solicit donations for that purpose, in 
this and the other Colonies, and that he be requested to proceed 
upon that business as soon as may be." 

Sept. 1, 1773. "Voted and resolved that Mr. David Howell's 



102 APPENDIX. 

salary, be increased to £90, 1. m. per annum." "Voted and resolved, 
that the offer of the Secretary, [Dr. Thomas Eyres,] be accepted, 
that he would pay the interest of $100 for three years to any gen- 
tleman who will advance such sum towards finishing the rooms in 
the College edifice, after the balance in Mr. Howell's hands was 
expended, the Corporation being security for the original sum." 

From Dr. Stiles's Diary, Nov. 1771. " On Monday I went to 
visit the College, where five or six lower rooms are finished off. 
They have about twenty stndents, though none yet living in the 
College edifice." 

Sept. 13, 1775. "Voted that the President take upon himself 
the collecting of tuition, sufficient to make up the deficiency which 
shall remain of his salary." " Voted that the following agreement, 
entered into by the President and Professor, be accepted and re- 
corded, viz. " We, the subscribers, agree to give to the Corporation, 
and to have equally deducted from our next year's salary whatever 
sum the tuition money for the College and School, in the year ensu- 
ing, shall fall short of £130, as witness our hands. James Man- 
ning, David Howell." 

September, 4, 1776. "Voted, that a petition from this Corpora- 
tion to the General Assembly, now sitting, requesting the continu- 
ance of the College funds in the General Treasury, [" notwithstand- 
ing their Act of March 4th last,"] till some future period, be pre- 
sented by the whole Corporation, to-morrow morning." 

September 5. "The Corporation having waited on the Honorable 
General Assembly, and being heard upon their petition, the prayer 
thereof was generously granted." 

"As the College edifice Avas taken for Barracks and an Hospital 
for the American Army, and continued to be occupied by them and 
the troops of France, from December 7, 1776, until June 1782, 
the course of education in the College and the regular meetings of 
the Corporation were in a great measure interrupted during that 
period. " 

September 5, 1782. A committee reported : " On President 
Manning's account, allowing him at the rate of £60 per annum, 
since May 1780, we report that there is due him £101 2s lid, after 
deducting £38 17s Id for tuition received by him. "We do hot mean 



APPENDIX. 103 

to have his salary in future affected by this report, which was some 
time ago voted to be £100 per annum." " The above allowance is 
accepted on condition, that, being made for times of great interrup- 
tion of the course of College studies, it be not drawn into a prece- 
dent, to affect my future salary. James Manning. " 

September 1, 1784. "Voted, that a Professorship in Experimen- 
tal Philosophy be established in this College, the Hon. David 
Howell, during the late war, having resigned his office of Philo- 
sophical Professor in the same." 

September 2. " Voted, that a Professorship of Natural History 
be established in this College." 

" Voted, that the Hon. Joseph Brown, Esq., be, and he is here- 
by, elected to the place and office of Professor of Experimental 
Philosphy in the College. " 

"Voted, that Benjamin Waterhouse, of the University of 
Leyden, M. D., and Professor of the Theory and Practice of Physic, 
in the University of Cambridge in America, be and he is hereby 
elected to the place and office of Natural History in this College." 

" The Committee appointed September 1, ult., to settle the Treas- 
urer's Accounts reported January 27, 1774, that, they found them 
at that date to stand thus .* 

John Brown, Dr., as per receipts for the College Funds, £1,- 
609 13s 2d ; also to a balance due from him, £248 Is 7d. " 

September, 7, 1785. "Voted, that, Rev. John Pitman, be, and 
he is hereby, appointed Steward of the College in the room of Mrs. 
Martha Eddy, relict of Richard Eddy, Esq , who has furnished 
commons, &c, since the death of her husband, and now resigns ; and 
upon the same terms." 

"Voted, that Mr. Robert Scott; be appointed a teacher in the 
College for such time as the Faculty may think necessary, with a 
salary not exceeding £65 per annum." 

" Voted, that Mr. Robbins's salary, as tutor, be £75 from Sep- 
tember. 1, 1784 to September 1, 1785; and £80 from this date to 
September, 1786." 

"Voted, that £100 from the College funds be paid the President, 
(it being in orders on the impost for the interest of said funds), 
for his services from September, 1783 to September 1784." 



104 APPENDIX. 

December 23, 1785, "Resolved, that the steward, in future, be 
authorized, for boarding in Commons, in College, to charge at the 
rate of seven shillings and three pence per week." 

March 13,1786, "Resolved, that, in future, the candidates for 
Bachelor's Degrees, being Alumni of the College, shall be clad, at 
Commencement, in black flowing robes and caps, similar to those 
used at other Universities." 

"Resolved, that an exclusive right of furnishing such robes and 
caps, for the use of the candidates, be granted and confirmed to an 
undertaker for the space of fifteen years ; and that Mr. Robbins, 
be authorized to enquire for an undertaker, and find out the lowest 
terms — and to report the same to the Faculty of the College for the 
time being, who are hereby authorized to complete the contract." 

July 6, 1786, "Recommended, that a catalogue be printed for the 
ensuing Commencement ; and that the Bachelors and Masters joint- 
ly defray the expense thereof; That, in future, a catalogue be printed 
every third year ; that the members of any class when they are 
graduated, shall be taxed a proportionate part of the expense." 

Of the first Catalogue, Dr. Stiles, in his Diary, September, 4, 
1772, speaks thus : "Commencement at Providence College, Wednes- 
day last, Mr. Kelly sent me the Theses and the Catalogue, the first 
Catalogue ever printed there. It contained sixty-one graduates, of 
which only twenty-three were graduated there ; and of the sixty-one 
there were twenty-six Ministers ; near two-thirds were honorary 
degrees." 

September 7, 1786, " Voted, that Benjamin West, A. M., and 
A. A. S., be appointed and chosen Professor of Mathematics and 
Astronomy." 

" Voted, that, Rev. Perez Fobes, A. M., and A. A. S., be ap- 
pointed and chosen Professor of Experimental Philosophy." 

" Voted, that the thanks of this corporation be presented to the 
Rev. Perez Fobes, for his careful and assiduous attention to the 
instruction of the students, and government of the College during the 
absence of the President. " 

" Voted, that £75 be paid to the President, for his services from 
September, 1785, to first of June, 1786 ; and that £25 be paid to 
Vice President Fobes for his services from June 1st, to September 



APPENDIX. 105 

1st, 1786." President Manning, was in Congress a part of the 
academical year. 

September, 8, 1786. "Voted, that, Abiel Flint, A. B., of 
Yale College, be, and he is hereby, elected to the place and trust of 
a tutor in this College, and that a salary of £45 be allowed him." 

"Voted, that this corporation proceed to the election of two more 
persons, to be styled Tutors Elect, and to be appointed to actual 
service on the first vacancies." 

September 6, 1787. " Resolved, that in future, the salutatory 
oration, at public Commencements, be assigned by the President ; 
that the valedictory and intermediate orations be assigned by the 
classes ; and that the syllogistic and forensic disputes, and such 
other exercises as they may judge necessary, be assigned by the 
President and Tutors." 

"Resolved, on the recommendation of the President, and Tutors, 
that Sheridan's Rhetorical Grammar be introduced as one of the 
classics in this College." 

" Resolved, that, Jonathan Maxct, A. B., be, and he is here- 
by, elected a tutor, — and requested to enter on the duties of said 
office at the end of the ensuing vacation ; and that a salary at the 
rate of £15 per annum be allowed and paid him for his services." 

September 4, 1788. "Voted, that the Treasurer of this corpora- 
tion be authorized to contract with such persons as may offer to fur- 
nish the fourth story of the College edifice, or any part of it, on such 
terms as he shall judge proper." 

"Voted, that the Rev. Perez Fobes, [who resided in Raynham, 
Massachusetts, and delivered lectures only a part of the year,] in his 
capacity as Professor of Experimental Philosophy, in this College, 
be allowed, and paid, by this corporation, one. dollar for each student 
in the College, out of the fund raised from the use of the library." 

"Voted, that the salary of Tutor Robbins be £80 ; that of Mr. 
Tutor Flint £60 ; and that of Mr. Tutor Maxct £40." 

September 3, 1789. "Resolved that all the Tutors in this College, 
be, and they are hereby, required and ordered to board in Commons, 
and to sit at the tables and to make their meals with the students, 
and preserve order and decorum amongst them." 

March 10, 1790. "Voted that Professor West, be desired to at- 
14 



106 APPENDIX. 

tend at College twice a day, (Wednesday afternoon and Saturday 
excepted,) and instruct in the following branches viz : Mathematics, 
Natural Philosophy, and Astronomy, and that the compensation for 
his services shall be £60 per annum." 

July, 29, 1791. "The Chancellor communicated the information 
of the death of the President." " Resolved, that this corporation 
will furnish the necessary expenses of the interment of our late 
worthy President." "Resolved, that Mr. William Holroyd be, 
and he is hereby, authorized and directed to receive and collect of 
the Students in this College, all arrearages of tuition, room-rent and 
other debts, receivable by the late President, that are now due and 
unpaid." 

August 2, 1791. "Voted, that the Rev. Perez Fobes be re- 
quested to attend the College from this time till Commencement to 
supervise the instruction of the students, and perform prayers, &c." 

September 6, 1791. "Resolved that Mr. Jonathan Maxct be 
elected a Trustee in the room of Mr. Samuel Winsor." 

"Voted, that Mr. Nicholas Brown be elected a trustee in the 
room of Nicholas Brown, Esq., deceased." 

"Voted, that the salary of the late President Manning be allowed 
and calculated as for a whole year, for his services since the last 
Commencement, and paid to his legal representative." 

"Resolved by the Fellowship, that the Hon. David Howell, 
Esq., be appointed to officiate as President for the ensuing Com- 
mencement." 

September 8, 1791. "Voted, that Mr. Asa Messer be elected a 
tutor in this College, and that a salary of £30, lawful money, be paid 
him. " " Voted that Mr. Jonathan Maxct be elected Professor 
of Divinity in this College. " Voted, that, in future, all the exerci- 
ses of the Commencement be previously exhibited to the Faculty of 
the College, for correction, and approved of by them, and that they do 
not, in the whole, exceed two hours in the forenoon, and the same 
time in the afternoon." "Voted, that the salary of Professor West, 
for the ensuing year, be £80, lawful money ; that of Tutor Arnold, 
£60 ; that of Tutor Doggett, £60." 

"Voted, that the Professor of Divinity be requested, as often as 
he conveniently can, without interfering with his duties as Pastor of 



APPENDIX. 107 

the Church, to attend, (and occasionally lecture, on Sundays,) morning 
and evening prayers in the College Hall, in compensation for which 
services, he be allowed the occupation of half the President's House, 
and half the College lands, the other half of the same being re- 
served for the use of the late President's widow." 

June 6, 1792. "Voted, that the Hon. David Howell, Esq., 
be, and he is hereby, appointed to superintend the government and 
instruction of the institution, from this period until Commencement 
day." 

August 13, 1792. "Agreed to recommend to the next corpora- 
tion meeting, to erect a monument to the memory of President Man- 
ning." September 4, 1792, "Voted, that a monument be erected, 
at the expense of this corporation, to the memory of the late Presi- 
dent Manning." A committee was also appointed "to propose an 
inscription for the said monument." 

September 6, 1792. " Voted, that the person who collects tuition 
from the students, in future, charge each student with one dollar 
per year — to be applied towards furnishing a public dinner, annually, 
for the corporation, and gentlemen of a literary character, who may 
attend the Commencement." 

" Voted, that David Howell, Esq., be paid out of the Treasury, . 
for three months' service in superintending the College, £20, and 
£10 for his services in presiding on Commencement day." " Voted, 
that the Rev. Professor Fobks be allowed and paid £10 for his ser- 
vices, from the death of the late President to the Commencement of 
September, 1791." "Voted, that a President pro tempore be elec- 
ted over this College. The votes being counted, the Rev. Jona- 
than Maxct was elected by unanimous vote." His salary was 
£100, with the fees paid for degrees, and use of the President's 
House and College lands. Dr. West's salary was £90 ; Tutor 
Daggets's, £67 10s. ; Mr. Messer's, as Tutor and Librarian, 
£65." 

December 6, 1792. "Voted, that the President employ one of 
the students to ring the College bell, and that such student be 
allowed his tuition and room-rent for that service." "Voted, that 
in future, he direct a Freshman to attend at the door of the room, to 
wait on the corporation, at all their meetings of business." 

April 4. 1793. "Voted, that Mr. Howell, who has now in his 



108 APPENDIX. 

possession the valuable donation of Law books, presented by Mr. 
Nicholas Brown to this College, be explicitly informed that the 
corporation expect he will take due care of them, by having them 
covered, that, whenever they are deposited in the Library, they 
may appear in good Order, the donor may not suffer the imputation 
of presenting books damaged and impaired ; and that Mr. Howell 
also be informed that the corporation expect he will attend and 
read a course of lectures to the students in College, at least once a 
year, agreeably to his appointment as Professor of Law," made 
September 2, 1790. 

October 7,1793. "The committee appointed to examine into 
the state of the expenditures and receipts of the College moneys, 
reported that the income of tuition last year was $1088; income 
of Library $204; interest on fund $266|, amounting to $1 658. 
The expenditures were $1076 ; the surplusage $582." At this 
time, the President's salary was £140 ; that of Professor Fobes, 
£35 ; that of Professor West, £100 ; and Tutor Daggett, £85 ; of 
Tutor Messer, £80 ; of Tutor Densh, £45. 

September 3, 1795. " Voted, that the President, &c, be a com- 
mittee and make arrangements respecting the establishment of a 
proper master to teach the French language in the College." 

September 8, 1796. "Whereas, the Corporation conceive it 
expedient to institute, in this seminary, a Professor of the learned 
languages, be it therefore enacted, that Mr. Asa Messer be, and 
is hereby, appointed to that office." 

" Voted, that the salary of Professor Messer be $327 per annum, 
with the addition of $43 for his services as Librarian." The other 
salaries at this time, were as follows : That of the President, $600 ; 
that of Professor West, $357 ; that of Professor Fobes, 120 ; that 
of Tutor Fish, $150. 

September 7, 1797. "Voted, that the Pev. Jonathan Maxcy 
be, and is, elected President of this College." Up to this time he 
had been only Vice-President. 

September 6, 1798. " Voted, that the two professorships, to wit : 
that of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, and that of Mathe- 
matics and Astronomy, be united, and that the same be denominated 
and called a Professorship of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy." 

" Voted, that Dr. Benjamin West be appointed to discharge the 



APPENDIX. 109 

duties of Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, for the 
ensuing year." 

September 5, 1799. " Voted, that Mr. Professor Messer be 
appointed to discharge the duties of Professor of Mathematics and 
Natural Philosophy, for the ensuing year." The salaries for this 
year were as follows : The President's, $900, (raised to $1000 in 
1801) ; Professor Messer's, $520 ; Tutor Thompson's, $240 ; Tu- 
tor Jeremiah Champlin's, $200. 

" Voted, that an examination in Ancient History be exacted of 
the Senior class, in addition to their examination of the learned 
languages." 

" Voted, that a committee consisting of Mr. John Brown, &c, 
be appointed to apply to D. Howell, and request his attention to 
prepare and deliver to the students of this College, a course of Law 
lectures annually, — and in case Mr. Howell should decline com- 
plying with this request, the committee are directed to receive of 
him and deposit in the College Library, all the Law books presented 
to this institution, by Mr. Nicholas Brown." See above, Decem- 
ber 6, 1792. 

September 4, 1800. " Voted, that the resignation of Mr. Thomp- 
son and Mr. Chaplin, as Tutors of this College, be accepted." 

" Voted, that Mr. Calvin Park be elected First Tutor of this 
College, and that he be allowed, for his services, a salary of $290, 
including his pay as Librarian, to which office he is also appointed." 

" Voted, that Mr. Moses Miller be elected Second Tutor of 
this College, and be allowed a salary therefor of $250." 

" Voted, that the President, &c, be a committee to agree with a 
Third Tutor of this institution, at a salary not exceeding $150." It 
would seem that Mr. Messer was, at this time, the only Professor 
in College, besides the President. 

September 2, 1802. " On a letter read from the President resign- 
ing his office, Voted, that the President's resignation be accepted ; 
and that be a committee to draught an answer thereto." 

'' Voted that the Rev. Asa Messer be elected President of this 
College, pro tempore. 

During the Presidency of Dr. Messer, the records of the corpo- 



110 APPENDIX. 

ration are so voluminous that no satisfactory extracts could be made 
from them, without extending these notes unduly. The interest in 
them also is diminished as we approach our own times. 



APPENDIX H. 

The Honorable Nicholas Brown was born in Providence, in 
1769. In 1782, when but thirteen years of age, he entered this 
College, and consequently was educated under President Manning, 
for whom he always expressed great veneration. In 1792, at the 
early age of twenty-three, he was elected one of the Trustees of this 
College. He was Treasurer of the corporation from 1796 to 1825. 
In 1792, he presented to the College a law library; in 1804, he 
gave five thousand dollars to found a Professorship of Oratory and 
Belles Lettres, in consideration of which the College was named 
Brown University. In 1823, he erected, and presented to the cor- 
poration, Hope College. In 1828, he, in connection with his brother- 
in-law and partner in business, presented the College with a very 
complete Philosophical Apparatus. In 1832, he contributed $10,- 
000 to the library fund, and in 1835, he presented to the corporation 
the library edifice and chapel, known as Manning Hall. In 1839, 
he gave sites for the President's Mansion and Rhode Island Hall, 
and $10,000 towards the expense of erecting the buildings. The 
next year, he provided for a fund of about $10,000 to aid indigent 
young men studying in the University. His bequests to the Col- 
lege, in money and lands, were not less than $52,500. His dona- 
tions amounted in all to about $160,000. 

An account of his life and character is given by the Rev. Dr. 
Wayland, in a discourse delivered November 3, 1841 ; and a 
sketch of his educational and other benefactions, by Professor 
William Gammell, in Barnard's American Journal of Educa- 
tion, June, 1857. 



ARRANGEMENTS OF THE CORPORATION 



CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 



PROCEEDINGS 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 



AlillANGKMENTS OF TIIK CORPORATION. 



At a meeting of the Executive Board of the Corporation, 
on the 12th of June, 1863, President S 10 Alts, the Secretary, 
the Hon. John I\ i\<;siuu;y, and (lie Hon. Samuel G. 
Ahn( )I j d, were appointed a committee to report a plan for 
celebrating the completion of the first century of the history 
of Brown University; This committee subsequently re- 
ported through the Secretary, and their report .was presented 
to the Corporation at their' annual meeting, on the 3d of Sep- 
tember, 1863. This report recommended that the Centen- 
nial Celebration be held on Tuesday, September 6th, the day 
before the Annual Commencement of 18(14; that the Presi- 
dent of the University be requested to deliver a discourse 
suitable to the occasion; and that a committee of three be 
appointed to make the necessary arrangements for t\\v appro- 
priate observance of the day. The committee appointed by 
the ( Corporation in accordance with this recommendations- were 
the Hon. John Kin<;sisi;ky, William (Ioddard, Esq;, 
and GEORG-E L. Collins, M. D. They addressed to the 
graduates of the University, the following circular: 

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OK BROWN UNIVERSITY. 

Sir: — The present year completes a century in the existence of 
Brown University, and it has been determined to celebrate this first 
Centennial Anniversary with appropriate commemorations, on 
15 



114 ARRANGEMENTS FOR CELEBRATION. 

Tuesday, the 6th day of September next, the day preceding Com- 
mencement. At this celebration you are particularly invited to be 
present. 

The Corporation have appointed Reverend President Sears to 
deliver an address, and have also ordered that a subscription dinner 
be provided lor the Alumni, and friends of the University, who 
may attend. Other exercises will be arranged, under the direction 
of committees who have been designated for the purpose, and who 
will use their best efforts to impart interest to the occasion. 

Tickets for the dinner will be furnished at, the lowest practicable 
rate, which will probably not exceed two dollars each; but as the 
incidental expenses must of necessity be verv considerable, it is 
hoped that many will make additional contribu ions to assist in 
defraying them. 

The undersigned, who have been specially charged by the corpo- 
ration with the preparation of this Celebration, earnestly desire the 
attendance of all the scattered sons of the University ; and as all 
cannot be personally addressed by the committee, they respectfully 
request that you will communicate this invitation to other Alumni 
of your acquaintance, that all may be informed of the occasion, and 
invited to participate in its festivities. 

JOHN KINGSBURY, ) 
WILLIAM GODDARD, > Committee. 
GEORGE L. COLLINS, ) 
Providence, July 1st, 1864. 

The Hon. John H. Clifford, of the class of 1827, was 
invited to be the President of the Day, and the Rev. Joel 
Ha wes, of the class of 1818, to be the Chaplain. It was 
decided that the services be held in the First Baptist Meet- 
ing House, and that the dinner be served in a capacious tent 
to be pitched on the College grounds, in the rear of Univer- 
sity Hall. 

On the 6th of September, the procession was formed at 
half past 10 o'clock, in front of Manning Hall, under the di- 
rection of William Goddard, Esq., of the class of 1846, 
aided by E. B. Stoddard, Esq., of Worcester, of the class 



ARRANGEMENTS FOR CELEBRATION. 115 

of 1847 ; Thomas F. Tobey, Esq., of Providence, of the 
class of 1859 ; and C. E. Willard, of Littleton, Mass., of 
the graduating class of 18(34. It marched through College 
and North Main Streets, to the First Baptist Meeting House. 
The Centennial Exercises there took place in accordance 
with the following programme : 

Voluntary on the organ, by Professor E. A. Kelly. 

Prayer, by the Reverend Joel Hawes, D. D. 

Centennial Ode, written by the Right Reverend George 
Burgess, Bishop of the Diocese of Maine. Music, composed by 
Professor E. A. Kelly, sung by the Central Glee Club. 

Glory to God on high, 

Who gave the nations rest, 
When Albion's" red cross swept the sky 

O'er all the open West ; 
Then from the battle plain, 

Men o'er their ploughshares breathed, 
And swords which fiercer strife must stain, 

Through twelve calm years were sheathed. 

Bless we the patriot band 

Who spoke, in council sage, 
With thought that grasped th' expanding land, 

And pierced the coming age : — 
" The Crown of realms and hosts 

For other brows must shine ; 
The Attic tastes, the Switzer's boasts, 

Rhode Islander, be thine ! " 

Praise for the bounteous dead, 

The bounty still that lives ! 
The whirling wheel, the broad sail spread, 

That gathers and that gives ! 
The lineage good and old, 

Blazoned with generous arts, 
Graven, in characters of gold, 

On grateful human hearts ! 



116 ARRANGEMENTS FOR CELEBRATION. 

Lord of the ages, thanks 

For every pure career 
Of champions, in a hundred ranks, 

Who girt their armor here ; 
Then bore the day's long toil, 

Or laid a young life down, 
For duty, the dear natal soil, 

And the celestial Crown. 

Glide back, ye waves of time, 

To yon soft gales of Spring ; 
Bring, half unveiled, truth's brow sublime, 

Life's dawning landscape bring; 
Th' awaking classic lyre, 

The tale foi-ever new ; 
Heroes, and muses, and the fire 

Of friends as lovers true ! 

Thou century dead ! with thee 

Must all that treasure sleep, 
Save that which opes to memory's key, 

And that which heaven shall keep ! 
Closed is thy solemn arch, 

And Autumn winds sigh low ; 
Our lessening lines resume their march, 

And onward, onward go. 

Kind mother of our mind, 

For thee fresh centuries wait ; 
Then, leave thine honored past behind 

And meet them at the gate ! 
Lo ! from a land afar 

The stately train draws nigh ; 
While Freedom wears her every star : 

Glory to God on high ! 

Address by the Reverend President Sears. Benediction. 



wis* Stanza. 



CEITEMIAL ODE. 

FOR MALE VOICES. 

Composed by Prof . E. A.KELLEY. 



p 



M 



J L 



h^ 



q=^ 



m 



t*= 



« 



Glo - ry to God on high, Who gave the nations rest, 
7 1 ) 1 Kind mother of our mind, For thee fresh centuries wait; 

.t* £■# . . J I I h. 



4 



^d 



S 



t 



r 



w 



k v i i j > \ "' ^ i i j 



When Al-bions red cross swept the sky O'er all the o-pen 

Then, leave thine honored past be- hind And meet them at the 



* J nJ J i J 



S 



*=z* 



-# — »- 



' V 



±^A 




t*=Pt 



West; 

gate! 



Then from the bat - tie plain, 
Lo! from a land a - far 



it 



±3^ 



Men o'er their 
The state - ly 

-£-1 



=2C 



* 



JU 



2=£ 



* 



# I i 



ploughshares breathed, And swords which fiercer srife must stain, Thro' 
train draws nigh: While Free-dom wears her ev - 'ry star:Glo- 



m 



?=± 



^—d- 



-d w- 



* 



rifard. 



§ 



Ending of last Stanza 



±^ 



i 



twelve calm years were sheathed. 
y to God on high. 



Glo - ry to God on high! 



i 



m 



r 



2 ( ! Stf 



anza. 



I 



1 



MIA 






Si 



Bless we the patriot band Who spoke in council sage With 

i ! i i r i r— i 



-1L 



u 



3K 



-± 



§ 



^ 



+ =F 



f- 



1 



fed 



-£#- 



f 

thought that grasp' d th'expanding land, And pierced the coming age: " The 



**=£ 



-e-z- 



e 



±*z 



y- 



-»~r 



7^ 



£ 



E 



S 



^ 



^ 



8 y*« 



* 



-#-^ 



£ 



"*— !- 



Crown of realms and hosts For oth - er brows must shine; The 



■it 



i 



I 



SE 



1 



3^1 



r 



V 1 



-s-r 



| 



^ 



r 



# 






£#- 



SE£ 



m 



At - tic tastes, the Switzer's boasts, Rhode Islander be thine!" 



£ 



-9-*- 



3? Stanza. QUARTETTE. 

£J ■' J 6 



1 



TTK 



iu 



i—£t 



-0 0- 



-G-^- 



#T 



z£V 



=2 



£ 



EH^4 



T^ 



Praise for the bounteous dead, The bounty still that lives! The 
The lineage good and old, Bla-zon'd with gen'rous arts Gra> 






El 



1 



h 



0' 



1—i- 



£ 



£ 



=* 






4- 



9, '0 00 



m 



whirling wheel the broad sail spread,That gathers and that gives! 
ven, in char- ac - ters of gold, On grateful human hearts! 

_£ §. * J m J A € J - r. 



F* 



w 



rrf 



1 



4 l, .» Stanza. 



f 



h N 



231 



v$=i- 



®EEE£ 



^## 



Lord oftlie a-ges, thanks For ev - 'rypure ca - reer Of 



K± 



± 



i 



= S b= 5 fc 



. L3 Ui ! — * * 



* 0- 



7VLi : 



^TT-i 



^ ' I J. 



w- J —g—» — if* r - ^ — p - : — r 



w 



3F 



* * f < g . ■. 



* <f 



# # 



I I 1 ' 

eir armor here; 



champions, in a hundred ranks,^ho girt th 



i 



Then 





m 



-i — # 



? 



g. *? 



N" r ' r ^ 



f=r 



I 



01 ' 



f-l- r 



m 



• • • 



trr 



*=¥^- 



«=S 



bore the day's long toil, Or laid a young life down For 



£ 



iy- EffLMf ^ 



23: 



?=^ 



^ 



I 



■ : ' ■ ' r V 'i N'V r'Mi ii 



^? 



m 



du - ty, the dear na - tal soil, And the ce-les-tial Crown. 

J. ,s j i i iJ. ^j J , J ; J j 



33: 



• P i r ' ? r ' ^ 



'n ' ■ r. 



r — 

s'. h Stanza. SOLO. 






==i 



2=s 



e « * 



-#-#- 



£ 



Glide back ye waves of time, To yon soft gales of Spring; Bring 



Q 1^ 



fc=& 



imfe 



^ 



• .* * 



e 



- r ? ^ u 



half unveil'd, truth's brow sublime, Life's dawn-ing landscape bring; Th' 



I 



H5L 



■nfl J> 1 P; J> 



&^= 



# ' if 



^ 



*^£ 



* 



iking classic lyre, The tale for-ev-er new; He - 



I 



^ 



g 



r , f m. ? i ? mm 



SF* 



?^s 



roes, and mu-ses, and the fire Of friends as lov-ers true! 3 



6'.'' Stanza. 



tpS^f^ 



3e 



J- JJ J 



* * • 



1 

Thou century dead! with thee Must all that treasure 



1 3 W j J 
BBS Sg 

, / 1 ?;7 Eg rr 






sleep, Save that which opes to mem'- ry's kev, And 






-#^ — #- 



P=f 



» # 



* • j ? r f 



_ffi 



^ 



S 



m 



that which heav'n shall keep! 



r i 



Closed is thy solemn 

-1 J J I J i-H 



f 



1 I 






J. N J 



fe£ 



W 1. l 1 J it „ J. ,„i~J_ -i^V. l,,-,,.. n,T^ la. 'm'nrr 



§EE£ 



i i iii 

arch, And Autumn winds sigh low; Our less'ning lines re - 

i s ' i ." ' I— i I K-J — * 






sume their inarch, And onward, onward go, 



Interlude. 



SI 



1^^ 



i- 



£ 



.£ 



•*• 



I 



I).C. 



SB 



3 



±s- 



*? 



PROCEEDINGS AT THE CENTENNIAL DINNER, 



At the close of the exercises, the procession was formed 
again and returned to the University grounds. After a 
short interval, spent in mutual greetings, the Alumni, with 
their invited guests, marched to the tent where the dinner 
was served. A blessing was asked by the Chaplain of the 
Day. About seven hundred persons were seated at the tables. 

After dinner, the President of the Day, the Hon. John 
H. Clifford, addressed the assembly as follows : 

Brethren and Friends : — In the arrangements made by the 
Corporation, for this filial and most fitting commemoration, the grate- 
ful service has been assigned to me of bidding you welcome to these 
festivities. 

To you, our honored guests, whose interest in the cause of good 
learning, and whose respect for the sincere efforts that this institu- 
tion has made to foster and cherish it, constitute our only claims 
upon your presence and sympathy : — 

To you, whose names are borne upon our rolls, alibi instituti et 
honorarii, the adopted sons of the University, whom having, as it 
were, married into the family, we claim to be of our household ; — 

And to you, my brethren, the lineal offspring of our common 
mother, who have gathered on this hundredth anniversary of her 
birth, around the old hearthstone of your intellectual home, to do her 
honor, to renew those pleasant companionships among the living, 
which were first formed within these halls, and to recall for a brief 



118 CENTENNIAL DINNEE. 

hour, the presence of those whose starred names upon our catalogue, 
revive so many tender and affectionate memories of College life : — 

To each, and to all, in her name, and on her behalf, I tender a 
cordial welcome. 

Diverted, as most of us have been, by the sharp necessities of life, 
from our earlier studies, which constitute so grateful a solace amidst 
its distractions, to those who are privileged to pursue them, — retain- 
ing scarcely more than what Ben Jonson ascribed to Shake- 
speare, " Small Latin, and less Greek," — upon an occasion which 
comes to us but once in a lifetime, be that life protracted to the 
longest period, there can be no pedantry in a classical allusion 
which recalls those studies, however much they may have been neg- 
lected by us since our academic days. The sons of the seven-hilled 
city, on the great festal clays of Rome, received at her hands, their 
ovations, their processions, their arches of triumph. To him whose 
distinction had been achieved in the field of literature or of art, was 
assigned the laurel chaplet ; upon the brow of some successful and 
gallant commander of her fleets, the intrepid Farragut of the 
hour, was placed, by a grateful people, the Corona Navalis ; to 
the brave leader of her armies, some Roman Sherman, whose 
persistency and prowess had carried the successful siege of a forti- 
fied city, or some self-sacrificing Burnside, whose humanitj', as well 
as heroism, had relieved a beleaguered one, was tendered the Corona 
Obsidionalis ; and for the priest, who?e offices and counsels in 
times of civil war, by strengthening the patriotism of the people, 
had aided in securing an honorable peace, the badge of honor was 
the Corona Sacerdotalis ; — to each of her sons who, in any depart- 
ment of human effort, had achieved a distinction that reflected a 
ray of glory back upon the Republic, was awarded some appropri- 
ate token of the common interest in his success, to distinguish him 
from his fellows. 

Unlike the participants in those commemorative festivities of a 
Pagan civilization, we have come up to these scenes of our early 
toils and pleasures, on this hundredth birth-day of our Alma Mater, 
not to receive new distinctions at her hands, far less to vaunt, or 
even to recognize, any distinctions between each other ; but as a band 
of brothers, gathering once more at the knee of her who' nurtured 
us, each bearing the toil-won leaf of fame or of usefulness, which 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 119 

her generous culture has enabled us to gain in the conflicts of life, 
to be woven into a single cbaplet with which to adorn her venerated 
brow. 

A hundred years ! Measured by the experience of the individ- 
ual life, when, before man reaches it by a score of years, " his 
strength," in the language of the Psalmist, " is but labor and sor- 
row," how protracted it seems. But after listening to the admirable 
address of the excellent President of the University to-day, I 
fear, my brethren, that we shall be able to maintain no very large 
pretensions on the score of our antiquity. This mother of ours, 
though a hundred years old, is scarcely out of her teens, when meas- 
ured by the matronly venerableness of some kindred institutions, 
whose representatives from the other side of the water, I am glad to 
welcome as our honored guests to-day. Only a hundred years — a 
single century — and that in the lifetime of an institution which was 
founded and is maintained, not for a day, not for a century, but to 
bless and benefit successive generations of men, through all time — 
in scecula scecidoriun ; — across the stream of whose beneficent chari- 
ties no vigorous '•rule against perpetuities" can ever be interposed, 
to check its flow ; — how brief the period is, even the rounded cen- 
tury, which this day has completed ! Why, my brethren, of the class 
of 1827, (and it gladdens my heart to meet so goodly a representa- 
tion of the survivors of those " pioneers of the new system,") did 
you not feel that we might almost be counted among ihe " Condi- 
tores Academice" when you learned from the President's address, 
that while we were pursuing our studies here as Sophomores, the 
first student of the first class of this University, Professor William 
Rogers, of Philadelphia, a name not unhonored in the annals of 
literature and science, was a successful teacher in the University 
of Pennsylvania ? 

Of those who were here under the instructions of the first Presi- 
dent, James Manning, there is one still in the vigor of his powers, 
who expected to have united with us to-day, in these festivities, — the 
Honorable Ezekiel Whitman, now of Bridgewater, and for many 
years Chief Justice of the State of Maine. And we actually have 
at the table, another Chief Justice, who graduated under the accom- 
plished Maxcy, the second President of the institution, whom I 
recognize as the pure-minded magistrate, before whom I argued my 



120 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

first cause at the Bar, who commanded, through a long term of 
judicial service, the unqualified respect and confidence of the profes- 
sion and the people in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, — Chief 
Justice Williams, of the class of 1801. Let us not, then, brethren 
of the Alumni, plume ourselves too much on the antiquity of this 
mother of ours. She is a comely matron, yet. She will bear more 
children, we trust, to bless the world, than can be counted upon a 
thousand such rolls as she exhibits now. 

The President, in tracing the history of the University, has given 
us a few graphic sketches of some of the leading and distinguished 
characters who have been associated with its fortunes. You all 
remember that beautiful ballad of the German poet — of the traveler 
who, on crossing a river over which he had been ferried, with two 
intimate friends, twenty years before, turns to the ferryman, with 
the tender of triple fare, saying : 

Take, O boatman ! thrice thy fee, 

Take, I give it willingly — 

For, invisible to thee, 

Spirits twain have crossed with me. 

As I walked in the procession, to-day, my brethren, there were spir- 
its twain that walked with me, whom I never can remember but 
with emotion, who are associated with every hour of my College 
life. They need not be named ; they were not public or distin- 
guished men, as the world rates distinction, but they were of that 
quality and temper which, I pray to God, this institution may ever 
foster and send forth into the world — loving and lovable men, of 
that high honor and truthfulness, which are worth more than all the 
fame and distinction in the world. 

Among those, too, who have marched with me in that procession, 
whose shadows the inspiration of the hour has again made realities, 
was my first President — for we of the class of 1827 were blessed with 
two of them — the venerable and eccentric Messer, of whom I can 
say nothing that has not been already better said by the President 
in his address, unless it be to confirm the impression he gave us of 
his remarkable sagacity, his wonderful knowledge of human nature — 
at least of boy human nature — which made him more than a match 
for all the devices and expedients that the College ethics of my day 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 121 

justified us in resorting to, when striving to escape the penalties of 
College discipline. With him, of those that are gone, who of us can 
fail to remember the genial presence of the accomplished scholar 
and finished writer, whose public spirit made him as effective in 
moulding and guiding public sentiment outside of the College walls, 
as he was in training the minds and hearts of the students within 
them, " My guide, philosopher, and friend," — Professor Goddard ? 
And how can I forget, amidst associations like these, our beloved 
Tutor Fearing, who, though ripe for immortality, died too young 
for his country and his friends ? or the brilliant Burges, our Pro- 
fessor of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, whose fame is bounded by no 
local limits, and before whose scathing retort in the Congress of the 
United States, that Ishmaelite of Virginia statesmen, Randolph, of 
Roanoke, for the first time quailed, and was forever silenced ? 

Of the living, among our teachers, and the great debt of gratitude 
we owe to them, I will not trust myself to speak in this presence — 
[Turning to Ex-President Wayland, who sat near the speaker]. 
May the day be far distant when full expression of the magnitude 
of that debt can find decorous utterance. My friends, I am experi- 
encing something of what the French call the embarras des richesses. 
I am embarrassed, not because there is a lack of material, for one 
grows garrulous when old enough to prattle at the hundredth birth- 
day of his mother, — but because I desired to say only enough to 
provoke a little of the wit and wisdom of others. Still, I cannot 
pass to the other, though more agreeable, duties of the chair, without 
asking, here, in the " city of our solemnities," the city of my nativ- 
ity, with a little more emphasis, and, perhaps, a little more freedom, 
than was asked by the learned President this morning, — What does 
not this beautiful City of Providence owe to Brown University ? 
Will it, upon this centennial birth-day of that institution, which, 
through all these hundred years, has blessed its people to an extent 
they can scarcely measure, — will this city recognize the debt it owes 
to her? Will this surrounding country, not of Rhode Island only, but 
the whole adjacent region of Massachusetts, recognize the claims 
this College has upon it for sustenance and support ? What would 
they have been, in comparison with what they are, if she had not 
crowned this lovely eminence, this Padan Aram, ' between the rivers,' 
with her classic halls, drawing into her charmed circle the young 
1(3 



122 CENTENNIAL DINNEE. 

minds that might otherwise have been left without that generous 
culture which her instruction has imparted ? Has she not been a 
source of precious influences, to be cherished and strengthened for 
the coming century, in a larger measure even than she has been in 
the past? 

By the training and discipline that shall be maintained here, and 
by the means that shall be furnished to render them more liberal 
and efficient, these myriad homes that surround us are to be bright- 
ened by the realization, or darkened by the disappointments, of their 
fondest hopes. May the youth who are to resort hither from these 
homes, be, in the noble and inspiring words of John Milton, 
" inflamed with the study of learning and the admiration of virtue, 
stirred up with high hopes of living to be brave men and worthy 
patriots, dear to God, and famous to all ages." And may they find 
here the amplest and most generous provisions for meeting all their 
intellectual wants, and ministering to their highest aspirations. As 
they come forward in successive generations, their ranks, we trust, 
are to be continually augmented, and their march never to be inter- 
rupted nor stayed. 

As I shall have to admonish others, that brevity is not only the 
' soul of wit,' upon this occasion, but that it is an imperative neces- 
sity of the hour, I must pause. Let us now, my brethren, renew 
our fealty to our Alma Mater. Let us remember, that, in the cen- 
turies to come, what we may do now to nerve her hands and 
strengthen her heart, will make the world better for our having 
lived in it ; and that there are others to come after us, to commemo- 
rate the lapse of other centuries, and to celebrate other birth-days, 
who will look back to this clay's record, to see who of us were faith- 
ful to the obligations that we owed to her. 

" When we are dust, who gather round this spot, — 
Our joys, our griefs, our very names forgot, — 
Again, as other centuries melt away, 
Shall other classes come to keep the day." 

I close with a sentiment suggested -by the address of the Presi- 
dent of the University, and by the spectacle before me of this goodly 
throng of her children, to which she may proudly' point as " her 
jewels." 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 128 

Our Alma Mater. — The wealth and vigor she exhibits on her 
Hundredth Pdrth-Day, proves that she has been enriched by 
every expenditure of her treasures, and acquired a fresher youth by 
every year that has been added to her age. 



In anticipation of the Centennial Celebration, the Philadel- 
phia Baptist Association, so closely identified with the early 
history of " Rhode Island College," had appointed a Delega- 
tion to represent it on this occasion. The President, there- 
fore, read the following - sentiment: 

The Philadelphia Baptist Association o/'17f>4 — A hundred years 
ago they planted, in a congenial soil, the seed of a broad and liberal 
culture ; their successors have come to behold its flourishing harvest. 

He then called on Horatio Gates Jones, Esq., a mem- 
ber of the Philadelphia bar, and chairman of the Delegation, 
who spoke substantially as follows : 

Mr. President : — It becomes my duty, as a member of the Del- 
egation appointed by the Philadelphia Baptist Association, to 
respond to the sentiment just read. I shall do so very briefly, as 
others of the Delegation are also present. [Referring to the Rev. 
Howard Malcom, D.D., and the Rev. James B. Simmons.] 

More than one hundred years have elapsed since the idea of a 
College in Rhode Island was suggested by several ministers con- 
nected with the Philadelphia Baptist Association. That body, 
which had then existed for fifty-five years, was composed, in part, of 
a number of learned clergymen, who felt "that the Baptist churches 
of America needed a College where their young men could be edu- 
cated without any sectarian influence or tests. After clue delibera- 
tion, Rhode Island was decided to be the proper place for such an 
institution. The chief movers in the matter, were the Rev. Mor- 
gan Edwards, of Philadelphia ; the Rev. Dr. Samuel Jones, of 
Lower Dublin ; and the Rev. Dr. James Manning, of New Jersey. 
The first named was the person who, in 17G2, proposed the plan of 
the College, and after its organization, visited Europe to collect funds 



124 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 



for its endowment ; the second went to Newport, and remodeled the 
Charter ; while the third, as all are aware, was the first President. 
The names of these men and their coadjutors at Newport and Prov- 
idence, deserve to be held in lasting remembrance, not only by 
Baptists, but by the entire people of Rhode Island, for having, at 
that early day, established a College here upon so liberal a basis. 

From the first application for a Charter, until it was granted, the 
Philadelphia Association was consulted by the friends here, as every 
important step was taken ; and when the great controversy arose in 
reference to the first Charter, — which, for a century, has been lost, 
but now sees the light once more at this family gathering, in that 
noble volume, the Life of Dr. Manning, from the accomplished 
pen of your Librarian, Reuben A. Guild, — the whole movement 
in the Legislature of Rhode Island was stopped until the opinion of 
the Association could be had. 

For many years after the Colege was in operation, our body 
evinced the liveliest interest in its prosperity, and our churches 
often contributed funds for the support of the students. I state 
these facts merely to show the intimate relations which existed be- 
tween the Association and the College. 

It was thus, sir, that our Fathers — forever honored be their mem- 
ory — established Rhode Island College — as an experiment, basing 
it upon the principle, not merely of religious toleration, but of reli- 
gious liberty, to all of every sect. They firmly believed, with the 
noble Founder of this colony, in the sanctity of conscience, in soul- 
liberty, and in the entire separation of Church and State. These 
grand doctrines, which Roger Williams and the other early 
Welsh settlers had learned among the mountains of Wales, were 
planted by them here in America, in full faith that God would bless 
them, and make them, as they have already become, the distin- 
guishing features of our State and National governments. 

And now, Mr. President, after a century has passed away, the 
Philadelphia Association, still in full vigor, and having a member- 
ship of over twelve thousand communicants, has deputed us to rep- 
resent them at this Centennial gathering. We have come to see 
how the great trust committed by the Founders of the College to the 
people of Rhode Island, has been executed — to learn whether their 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 125 

experiment has succeeded, and whether their principles have been 
adhered to. 

During the past, we have often heard of your fame as a seat of 
learning, and we have also heard how God opened the generous 
hearts of one family in your city, bearing the honored name of 
Brown, to endow your College with a princely munificence, and 
thus place it upon a firm foundation. I am glad to know that mem- 
bers of that same noble family still live among you. Their names 
will never be forgotten so long as Brown University continues to 
exist. 

We have also heard of your graduates who have filled high and 
honorable positions in almost every branch of government — State 
and National — and who have distinguished themselves alike, in the 
pulpit, on the bench, and at the bar. We know, too, that some of 
your first class which was graduated at Warren, devoted themselves 
during the Revolution to the defence of American liberty ; and, sir, 
it is a matter of pride to recall the fact that now, when the Govern- 
ment they assisted to establish is threatened with destruction by 
domestic traitors, the sons of Brown University have been the first 
and foremost among the supporters of our constitutional rights. 

From what we have seen and heard, and from what Our eyes 
this day behold, we are assured that the experiment of our fathers 
has succeeded ; that Brown University is still cherished by the peo- 
ple of Rhode Island, and that the principles of the Founders have 
been strictly adhered to. That which they established, amid many 
fears and strong opposition, stands, to-day, a monument of their wis- 
dom, their piety, and their catholic spirit. 

In conclusion, Mr. President, I beg leave to read a resolution 
which was adopted by our Association at its 156th anniversary. It 
is as follows : 

"Resolved, That the members of the Philadelphia Baptist Asso- 
ciation still feel a lasting interest in the welfare and prosperity of 
Brown University, and as our fathers, a century since, participated 
in its organization, we, their successors, gladly avail ourselves of the 
opportunity to express our continued attachment to that venerable 
seat of learning — the first Baptist College in America." 



126 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

This, sir, expresses the sentiments still entertained towards your 
College, by the venerable body which we have the honor to 
represent. 

In its name and behalf, we bid Brown University, for the century 
to come, God-speed, — with the earnest hope and belief that it will 
continue to maintain the great liberal principles on which it was 
founded. 



The next sentiment was : 

"Ex-President Wayland, — For more than a quarter of a cen- 
tury identified with the. highest prosperity of this University : a 
generation of grateful pupils unite to do him honor." 

President Wayland spoke in substance as follows : 

Mr. President': — When I look around me, and see so many 
whom I have aided to educate, I am conscious that I can add little 
to increase the interest of the present occasion. Your own memo- 
ries, gentlemen, will recall the past, with a vividness of recollection 
far surpassing anything that I can utter. Yet, it may not be amiss 
briefly to refer to the scenes of former years, that the reminiscences 
of youth, may cheer you in discharging the duties in which you are 
now actively engaged. 

I was called to the presidency of this College at a time when the 
Corporation supposed that important changes were required in order 
to promote the best interests of the institution. The College was not 
deemed to be in a flourishing condition, through whose fault, or 
whether through the fault of any one, I cannot say, nor have I ever 
inquired. It is sufficient to remember that such was somewhat gen- 
erally believed to be the fact. 

They wisely determined to commence their reformation with the 
officers of instruction. None of them, I believe, had previously 
occupied rooms in College, and their influence .was, of course, lim- 
ited, almost entirely, to their presence in the Recitation room. Seve- 
ral of them were gentlemen engaged in the active duties of professional 
life, and, except for a few months of the year, had no practical con- 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 127 

nection with the College. To remedy this state of things, the Cor- 
poration enacted that every professor in the College should devote 
himself exclusively to the lahors of teaching, and should also occupy 
a room in the College buildings, during the hours appropriated to 
study. In consequence of this order, we lost the services of some 
gentlemen, who, as has been said, were only occasionally connected 
with the College, and the business of teaching was devolved wholly 
on those officers who made education their life-work. They were 
thus enabled to increase, materially, the salaries of the resident offi- 
cers. When- the salaries were thus increased, it was distinctly 
stated that they were given and accepted on the condition, that the 
officers devote themselves exclusively to the business of teaching in 
the College, and also occupy rooms in the College buildings during 
the hours appropriated to study. 

But this was not all. The rooms of the officers were so distribu- 
ted, that each one had, under his special supervision, a given num- 
ber of students, for whose conduct he was considered specially 
responsible, and whose rooms he was to visit once during the eve- 
ning and once, at least, during the day. These visits you all well 
remember, and very few of you, I presume, do not recollect, that 
occasionally the visit of the officer delivered you from the company 
of unwelcome visitors, and, perhaps, sometimes it saved you from 
the misfortune of wasting the time of others. I think, in my course 
of visiting, I rarely found you out of your rooms, except from the 
very reasonable cause of a failure of memory. The common ex- 
cuse was, " I only stopped in a moment, sir, to inquire where the 
lesson was." This inquiry was soon answered, and the student was 
soon in his own room, quietly pursuing his studies. 

It was believed by the Corporation, that the parents and guard- 
ians of youth should, at the close of each term, be made acquainted 
with the standing of those whom they sent here for education. For 
this purpose, the "Merit Roll" was established. Every officer took 
daily notes of the recitation of every student in his class. These 
notes were averaged at the close of the week, these averages were 
again averaged at the close of the term ; and the result was commu- 
nicated to the parent, with the regular College bill. Each student 
thus knew that every recitation would tell upon the account which 



128 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

would meet him on his return, in vacation, to his family and friends. 

It was also determined that every recitation should be a real trial 
of strength and a test of previous diligence. To this end, it was 
enacted, that neither professor nor student should ever use a book in 
the recitation room, except in those studies where books were abso- 
lutely indispensable. The result was, that a knowledge of the subject 
was so fully acquired, that commonly a large proportion of every class 
could give, at a final examination, the substance of the whole volume 
which they had studied during the preceding term. 

To some persons, this discipline seemed needlessly severe. It 
was real, and strict, yet kind ; the intercourse of well bred men with 
each other. The young men became earnest in study, and those 
who were present during the transition, have assured me that during 
their residence in College, they never were so happy as after these 
changes had been inaugurated. 

Under these circumstances, we commenced the second term of the 
College year 1827. The example of the Senior class, which came 
more immediately under my instruction, was worthy of all praise. 
They comprehended their position and knew that on the exemplifi- 
cation of the new system by them, depended greatly the future 
success of the College. Their conduct, both as students and as young 
gentlemen, was high minded and exemplary. At the close of our 
first term, they greatly distinguished themselves. Of one of them I 
would like to speak, but his presence bids me forbear. It is enough, 
to say that he then gave promise of arriving at that eminence to 
which he has attained, having deserved and received the highest 
honors which the State of his adoption could confer. 

It had been said that this University was, of all others, the easiest 
to enter and the hardest to leave. This impression, whether it 
had been true or false, the course which the Corporation adopted 
tended to reverse. They raised at once the requirements for 
admission to the level of the best Colleges in New England, and 
directed that these requirements should be rigidly enforced. At 
the same time, they made it my duty, whenever a student, from indo- 
lence or negligence was doing good, neither to the institution nor 
himself, to inform his parents, and desire his immediate removal 
from College. 

It may be supposed that, at first, these regulations led to a dimi- 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 129 

notion of our numbers. The first class which entered after the 
" new system " was commenced, was small ; it graduated, I think, but 
thirteen. There were croakers in those days, and they predicted 
the downfall of the College, from such new and unwise regulations. 
For some time it was necessary to reduce our salaries. But we 
were all in excellent spirits. We did not "bate a jot of heart or 
hope, but still bore up, and steered right onward." I well remem- 
ber a conversation with the late Professor Goddard, now with 
God, on the subject of our prospects. We both concluded that 
whether a College existed here or not, was none of our concern. Our 
duty was, so long as it existed, to make it a good College. The 
vessel might sink, but if it sunk, it should sink with all its colors 
flying ; we would strive to make it a place of thorough education, 
and the cultivation *of elevated and noble character. 

The funds of the institution amounted to, I think, §34,000 ; and 
the College was wholly supported by the tuition, and the interest of 
this sum. The philosophical apparatus was almost worthless, and 
would not now be accepted as a gift by any of the higher academies 
of New England, except, indeed, it were as a collection of antiqua- 
rian specimens. The library was much in the same condition. The 
books were few, old and miscellaneous, — such, in general, as had 
been gleaned by solicitation from private libraries, where they were 
considered as of no value. 

The Corporation believed that their first duty was, to render the 
institution valuable, — hoping that by rendering it good they would 
make it desirable, and that young men would resort to it for instruc- 
tion. The want of a philosophical apparatus was supplied by pri- 
vate benevolence. The late Mr. Thomas P. Ives directed us to 
order from Europe such an apparatus as the .College required. This 
was done, and an elegant apparatus was procured, adapted to all the 
purposes of illustration. Who paid for it, I never knew ; whether 
Mr. Ives, or Messrs. Brown & Ives. It came to us through their 
name, all paid for; the apparatus adorned our philosophical room ; 
and that is all I know about it. 

The next care of the Corporation was the library. It was decided 
to raise, by subscription, $25,000, as a fund for this purpose. Twenty 
thousand dollars, with some difficulty, were raised. When its accu- 
mulated interest had raised it to $25,000, it was placed in active 

■ 17 



130 CENTENNIAL DINNEE. 

service. The interest has since been devoted to the purchase of 
books and to the improvement of other means of instruction. From 
this fund, has arisen the present library, containing nearly 85,000 
choice books, and being one of the best working libraries in the 
country. 

With these means and with a gradual increase of students, and, it 
has been said, with a still greater increase of reputation, the College 
continued its daily work, with very few incidents that need to be 
recalled. 

We continued in the regular process of instruction, in this manner, 
for more than twenty years; our fund of thirty-four thousand dol- 
lars having received neither addition nor diminution. About this 
time, it became the policy of several of the Colleges in New Eng- 
land, to create scholarships, and endow professorship-, and thus 
reduce tuition far below its actual cost, or even to render it wholly 
gratuitous. This College, being, as I have said, almost without 
endowment or scholarships, began to feel the effect of these meas- 
ures of its neighbors. An effort was made to raise a sum of money, 
not to be used as a fund, but to be employed to defray the tuition of 
certain students, under the direction of the President. This was 
clone, the money was raised, and tuition was, in several cases, annu- 
ally rendered gratuitous. In a year or two, the money thus contri- 
buted was exhausted, while other Colleges were still increasing their 
means of gratuitous education. The question arose, — Is this con- 
tribution to be renewed ? I will confess to you, I could not recom- 
mend it. I had been active in soliciting the first donations, and I 
found that they were not offered very freely. Men did not see why 
the desire to be educated at College made a young man an object of 
charity, and they did not clearly see why we should not be able to 
take care of ourselves ; and they seemed to hold that if men wished for 
a Collegiate education, they ought to pay for it themselves. When 
I urged on them that other Colleges were giving away education, 
and that we must do the same thing, I could not find that even this 
appeal aroused any deep-felt sympathy. And, besides, I must con- 
fess, that from the results of the experiment, I could not strongly 
recommend it. It did not succeed in selecting the men who were 
most likely to confer benefits upon the public, and the fund did not 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 131 

seem to answer the design of the donors. Under these circumstan- 
ces, I could not advise its renewal. 

What then was to be done ? Our little fund of thirty-four thou- 
sand dollars was already growing less. In a few years, it would all 
be exhausted. It became a serious question, — How shall the ^jollege 
be supported? 

The Corporation at once saw that we could not compete with 
larger institutions in raising money for gratuitous education. They 
could more easily raise five hundred thousand dollars tor this purpose, 
than we could raise one hundred thousand dollars. But could our 
number of students be increased in any other manner ? 

It occurred to the corporation, that we were affording education 
designed mainly for professional men. This was the smallest class 
of the community. Why should we not extend our courses of 
instruction so as to afford a higher education to men who* desired 
intellectual cultivation, but who were engaged in the various depart- 
ments of active life? If education is good for professional men, they 
asked, why is it not good for merchants, manufacturers, agricultu- 
rists, mechanics, and, in general, for all who desire it? Why should 
they not all be furnished with that cultivation which shall render 
them intelligent and educated men, as well as fit them to be Law- 
yers. Physicians and Clergymen? 

The corporation decided that the arrangements of the College 
should be changed to conform to these suggestions. While the orig- 
inal course of studies remained unchanged, various departments 
were so arranged that young gentlemen might enjoy the full advan- 
tage of them, without a previous knowledge of the ancient languages. 
Particular degrees were to be conferred on those who pursued those 
studies alone, which are adapted to general cultivation, and which 
would place men of every occupation in the class of educated men. 
Other courses of instruction were to be added, in order to render the 
College as useful as profitable to every class of the community. 
And still further, while one appointed course was assigned to the 
candidates for a degree, any student was admitted to pursue such 
studies as he chose, and for such time as he chose, receiving such 
testimonials of proficiency as he had merited. 

Such were the designs of the corporation. 

But it was evident that thus to enlarge our course of education, 



132 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

would require funds, which we had not at command. Buildings 
must be erected or changed, new professorships must be established, 
new apparatus must be procured. It was, therefore, decided to make 
an appeal to the public for a subscription to carry these views into 
operation. 

This was done. ■ The sum was fixed at $125,000. The public 
justified the confidence that had been reposed in them. The sub- 
scription, at the close, amounted to $128,000, which was freely 
given for the express purpose of carrying these ideas into effect. 
The changes were made, and the College commenced a new year 
under those conditions. 

One fact, in passing, is worth an incidental remark. This Col- 
lege is said to be under the influence of the Baptist denomination. 
It has been its pride to be governed on Baptist principles. These 
principles are " perfect freedom in religious concernments." It was 
our strenuous, and, I believe, successful, endeavor to make it in 
every respect as good for every other denomination as for Baptists ; 
and the result, in raising the subscription of which we have spoken, 
was manifest. Gentlemen of all denominations felt the same inter- 
est in promoting these improvements, as though it were a College 
of their own. The first gentleman to whom I applied, on the open- 
ing of the subscription, was an Episcopalian, and he headed the list 
with a donation of twenty thousand dollars. 

It was upon such principles as I have thus briefly stated, that the 
new arrangements of this College were commenced. Of their adap- 
tation to the present state of civilization, and especially to that of our 
country, it is, perhaps, premature to speak. Time will decide upon 
their truth or their fallacy. It is worthy of observation, however, that 
the changes in Collegiate organization of late, so far as I know, have 
all been in this direction. Nor is this true of this country alone. 
The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge are adapting their 
courses of study in such manner as to meet the demands of the dif- 
ferent classes of the community, and are becoming accessible to 
classes who were formerly not allowed to enter their sacred enclo- 
sures. In a recent speech of Mr. Gladstone, on the subject of 
popular education, he boasts that Oxford is no longer the place of 
education for a particular class, but that it is now an institution for 
the whole people of Great Britain. 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 133 

I hope that you, gentlemen, may see these views familiar as 
household words to the whole civilized world, so that every seminary 
of higher education shall scatter broadcast, over the whole com- 
munity, over every rank and every class, over every profession and 
every occupation of life, the benefits of knowledge and the blessings 
of religion. Rhode Island gave to the world the first practical 
example of a commonwealth founded upon the principle of " perfect 
liberty in religious concernments," and this doctrine is now making 
the circuit of the civilized world, and awaking the nations from the 
slumber of ages. It will be a pleasing matter of reflection for us, 
gentlemen, if we shall be permitted to see this little College taking 
the lead in another glorious reformation, and of being the first to 
oifer to our brethren in every walk of life, all the blessings of broad, 
generous, universal intellectual cultivation. 

I have already engrossed more of your time than was allotted to 
me, and I must claim your forgiveness. Let me say, in a word, I 
cannot express the pleasure I feel, at seeing myself surrounded by 
such a number of my former pupils, in every one of whom I recog- 
nize a friend. I know, as I look upon your faces at this moment, 
that there is not one of you, who does not believe that, notwithstand- 
ing my many imperfections, my paramount motive of action was an 
honest intention to promote your highest and best good. 

But this Centennial Celebration will soon have passed away. 
Before another shall come, we shall all have entered eternity. An- 
other Centennial will hardly know that we ever existed. But we 
shall still live. Through the infinite mercy of God, in Christ Jesus, 
may we meet where they no more go out, and dwell forever in the 
presence of our Father and our God 



At the close of President TTayland's remarks, a stanza 
of " Auld Lang Syne " was sung. The President then 
announced that there was present a representative of a sister 
institution, Avhioh might boast of real antiquity, to which 
gentleman we, as a country, were much indebted for a timely 
and kindly word, at a time when such words were most 
needed by America in her great struggle — uttered, too, when 



134 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

they were worth something and cost something. In behalf 
of his College and himself, the President had the supreme 
satisfaction of asking the assembly to listen to Professor 
Goldwin Smith, of the University of Oxford, England. 

Amidst the heartiest applause, Professor Smith rose and 
responded, in substance as follows : 

I most heartily thank you for the compliment you have kindly 
paid me and the great University — the elder sister of this institution 
— which I have the honor to serve. I may say, not as a mere 
hackneyed phrase, but with truth, that 1 wish the task were in more 
practiced hands. [ am a student, not an orator. The only public 
meeting I ever addressed in my life, and perhaps the only one I 
ever shall address, was the great meeting called in the Fiee Trade 
Hall at Manchester, to protest against the outrage of the Alabama. 

It is most interesting to a professor of an English University to 
see these seats of liberal learning, the counterparts of Oxford and 
Cambridge, rising on this side of the Atlantic. I have been told 
that, compared with those ancient Universities, what I see here must 
be of a humble kind. But in this country, we behold everywhere 
the acorn which enfolds the future oak. Pass five or six centuries, 
and here, too, we shall have grey walls, ancient memories, and his- 
toric greatness. 

I thank you for acknowledging, in my person, the fellowship of 
learning- and science on both sides of the Atlantic ; and I earnestly 
pray that when this evil hour is past, Englishmen and Americans 
may be again bound together, not by the fellowship of learning and 
science alone. 

When the Prince of Wales, the representative of George III, 
paid a visit to this country, he was received, not only with courtesy 
and hospitality, but with enthusiastic affection ; and we might have 
hoped that the friendship of the two nations was thoroughly estab- 
lished. Now, however, a feeling of hostility seems again to have 
arisen between us, though not, I trust, to continue forever. 

You must not suppose that the want of sympathy, or, — as I fear I 
may say, — the antipathy of which you have had to complain, on our 
part, during this struggle, extends to the whole English nation. It 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 135 

were idle for me to deny that the privileged classes of my country- 
men — the aristocracy and the clergy of the established church — are, 
in a certain sense, your enemies. To these classes you are a stand- 
ing menace, not in a military, but in a moral and political, point of 
view. They know that the success of your institutions must ulti- 
mately involve the doom of those under which they hold their power. 

Therefore they are glad that the Model Republic should, as they 
imagine, end in failure, and they sympathize with those who are 
laboring for its overthrow. It is not right that they should have 
this feeling, but it is natural, when they perceive, so keenly as they 
do, the tendency of your institutions indirectly to subvert their own. 
The feeling is not one of malignity towards the American people, 
but of political fear, and of opposition, — which, in the case of a class 
circumstanced as they are, is inevitable, — to your principles of soci- 
ety and government. 

The upper middle class, to a certain extent, follow the lead of the 
aristocracy. It is very wealthy, and perhaps its wealth has had the 
usual effect to make it a little regardless of questions of principle by 
which, at a former period of our history, it would have been deeply 
moved. I fear it is not above being influenced by a feeling that the 
side of those who are opposed to you, is the more genteel. But the 
sentiments of this class are less hostile to you than those of the aris- 
tocracy and the bishops. The great middle class paper, the 
Telegraph, has a circulation double, I believe I may almost say 
treble, as great as that of the Times. And this journal, though 
strongly opposed to the war, has not been, like the Times, hostile to 
the American people. A great number of my countrymen, let me 
say, are sincerely opposed to the war, without being hostile to Amer- 
ica. They sincerely believe that the war is leading you to ruin. 
My friend, Mr. Bright, — than whom the American people has no 
better or more powerful friend. — spoke in a letter to me the other 
day, with a feeling of sorrow amounting to anguish, of the affliction 
which has fallen upon your nation. Others, seeing the greatness 
of this affliction, may mistake its cause and speak of it in less 
friendly terms ; and yet they may not be your enemies, they may 
even be your friends. 

Of what Ave call the lower middle class, the greater part, I believe, 
are friendly to America ; especially the Nonconformists, who are 



136 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

numerous in this class, and who are the natural allies of your Free 
Churches. 

If we go still further clown, we find the agricultural laborers 
indifferent to this, as they are to all political questions. They are, 
in fact, in political intelligence, as in political rights, scarcely above 
the level of medieval serfs. But the intelligent operatives of our 
towns, especially in the manufacturing districts, have, in spite of the 
suffering brought upon them by the war, been, almost to a man, 
ardently in favor of your cause. They have followed your fortunes 
with the warmest sympathy, from the moment when the great issue 
between freedom and slavery was fairly presented to them, — and I 
must remind you, in justice to my countrymen, that this issue was 
not presented from the first. 

The party in England favorable to your cause, has alone been 
able, with success, to hold great public meetings. Our adversaries 
have attempted to hold great public meetings, but with little success. 

You take the Times for the voice of the English people. The 
Times is no longer the voice of the English people. That once 
great popular organ has been sold into the hands of the aristocratic 
party. Its managers find, in the patronage of aristocratic society, 
their compensation for the loss of the position that this journal held 
in former days. 

I wished to correct, as far as I could, the impression, which I find 
prevalent here, that England, as a nation, is animated by hostile and 
malignant feelings towards the American people. I would not think 
of touching on any political question which can divide American 
opinion. We are met here to-day, in honor of one of those institu- 
tions which are not, like the divisions of this evil hour, transitory, 
but permanent ; and which will remain well-springs of intellectual 
life to the nation, when the civil war is a thing of the past and its 
fierce passions have ceased to glow. 

Let me conclude, then, in a manner more suitable to the proper 
object of this festivity, by earnestly seconding the prayer of your 
President, that you will be liberal in the support and endowment 
of your Universities. We at Oxford and Cambridge are, perhaps, 
over endowed. We are placed, by our wealth, too much above the 
necessity of consulting the requirements of the time. But it is good 
that Universities should be made independent of mere commercial 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 137 

considerations ; and that they should be enabled to lift the head of 
the nation, as it were, above the atmosphere of its busy life into a 
higher and purer air. 

I thank you, gentlemen, once more, for the honor you have paid 
me, and heartily pray that the century of prosperity and honor which 
has passed over your University, may be succeeded by a century of 
still greater prosperity and still higher honor. 

As Professor Smith took his seat, the band played " God 
Save the Queen." 

The President next called on Governor Chase, of Ohio, 
to say something concerning the public sentiment in America, 
on the topics touched upon by Professor Smith. He re- 
sponded substantially as follows : 

Mr. President and Gentlemen : — I hardly feel that I have a 
right to speak in this presence. It is a gathering of the family 
around the domestic altar, in which it is hardly fit that the voice of 
a stranger should make itself heard. The children of the Univer- 
sity come from all quarters to mingle their gratulations upon the 
Hundredth Anniversary of the nativity of their Alma Mater ; and 
their mother's mother, the Baptist Association, yet surviving in 
green old age, unable to be present herself, sends her representatives 
to the festival. Why, then, sir, should you ask me to speak when 
there are so many present who can speak better and by better 
right ? 

Besides, what can I say ? It is true that for several years I have 
been very busy making notes, — [laughter and applause]— but I have, 
as yet, prepared no speech — least of all, a speech fit for this au- 
dience. 

But your President insists that I must say something. Well, 
then, let me say, in the first place, that looking around me, I see 
several faces which remind me of the early days of 1861. In Feb- 
ruary of that year, a number of citizens from all the States which 
had not then seceded from the Union, met in Washington, on the 
invitation of Virginia, to devise, if possible, some peaceful mode of 
restoring and preserving the National Unity. Among these citizens 
18 



138 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

were some patriotic Rhode Island men whom I now see present. 
"We were not so successful in the work of pacification as we desired. 
It might have been otherwise, had our southern fellow-citizens — 
whom we called brethren then, and expect to call brethren again, 
though now obliged to call them rebels — been willing to listen to 
sound reason. 

The Rhode Islanders were full of devotion to the Union, — as we 
all were, — but their way of stating the grounds and consequences 
of that devotion, struck me as a little peculiar. The people of Rhode 
Island — they said — are so patriotic that no force on earth can 
drive them from the Union. Every State may go, but Rhode 
Island will remain. Of course, Rhode Island, in the end, may 
constitute the whole United States ; and then, will have the whole 
National debt to pay ! And what is worst of all — they added — she 
is able to pay it. The case would be more tolerable if she were 
unable to pay, and could escape that way ! [Laughter and ap- 
plause.] 

Now it seems pretty clear that Rhode Island will escape this 
calamity. I congratulate her all the more cordially upon it, because 
it is somewhat doubtful whether even her resources would now prove 
quite equal to the discharge of the debt. By the blessing of God, 
however, the Union will stand. Not a heart beats within these can- 
vas walls, which does not invoke perpetual blessings on the Union. 
This great Republic is not to be rent asunder ; nor is any jot or tittle 
of her territories to be severed from the great whole. No matter 
how we differ on other points, we are one on this : "The Union 
must be preserved." No matter what clouds darken the sky, or 
what thunders crash, or lightnings burn, around us, while the tem- 
pest of war rages ; the heavens will yet become clear, and the sun 
shine forth on a re-established and renovated Union ; and Centen- 
nial Anniversary after Centennial Anniversary will gather the chil- 
dren of this University from every State of the Republic, undivided 
and indivisible. [Applause.] 

Let me respectfully suggest, then, that, as it seems clear that Rhode 
Island will not be left to pay the National debt, she cannot better 
show her patriotism than by paying over the amount as it stood at 
the beginning of the war — only seventy millions ! — to Brown Uni- 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 139 

versity. The worthy President, I am sure, will warrant me in say- 
ing that Alma Mater will be content with a quarter of the sum. 

While the children of the home have been reviving pleasant 
memories and indulging mutual confidences, you, Mr. President, have 
thought fit to call on a stranger from a foreign land— ^yet not a 
stranger, for we all look on Goldwin Smith as a cherished friend 
— to say something concerning the public sentiment in England 
towards our country ; and you have required me, a citizen of Rhode 
Island — for as a citizen of Ohio, under our American Constitution, 
T am also a citizen of Rhode Island — to say a few words in reference 
to what he has said. 

It was my misfortune, last fall, to be a good deal quoted in Eng- 
land as the author of some sayings not altogether friendly to that 
country. I said that in my judgment, England had not been alto- 
gether just in her dealings with us ; something less than magnani- 
mous ; a good deal less than generous and kind ; and that sometimes 
I could not help feeling Mke taking our old mother by the hair and 
giving her a good shaking. The phrase was not very elegant. It 
was an off-hand utterance to one of our great assemblies in the West, 
and got into print ; and as it expressed, though in homely language, 
a genuine feeling, I thought it best to let it go. 

How could any American feel otherwise, when the Alabama — 

" That fatal and perfidious bark, 
Built in the eclipse, and rigged with curses dark, — 

went forth upon the ocean, from a British ship-yard, equipped with 
British stores, armed with British cannon, manned by British sai- 
lors, to prey upon defenceless American commerce ? " Built in the 
Eclipse ;" yes, in the eclipse of National Faith and Honor ! " Rig- 
ged with curses dark ;" yes, with the curses of broken amity and 
kindled strife ! May God, in his goodness, avert the evil omens. 

Allusion has been made to the reception of the Prince of Wales 
in the United States. It is never best to disguise our real sen- 
timents. We did welcome the Prince of Wales right cordially. We 
received him with a warm gush of genuine, earnest American feel- 
ing. Our hearts went forth to him as the representative of the 
great branch of the Anglo-Saxon family beyond the water. We 
wished to draw yet closer the bonds of common lineage, common lite- 



140 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

rature, common religion. We thought of the time, as perhaps not 
distant, when hoth branches would be substantially one people — 
under different governments, indeed, — but animated by the same 
ideas, and standing together before the world as representatives of 
the same great principle of constitutional and personal Freedom. 

But when this rebellion broke out — when men, in the madness of 
their devotion to slavery, sought to pull down the pillars of the 
Republic and establish a Slave-Empire on its ruins — and when, in 
return for the love and generous sympathy with which we greeted 
the representative of England, we received cold and averted looks ; 
unkind and ungenerous words ; taunts and jeers, in the hour of our 
calamity ; and last and worst, saw piracy sheltered, provided, 
equipped and arrned for the conflagration of our merchant ships and 
the plunder of our commerce, — and all this done by Englishmen, — 
how could we feel otherwise than hostile to England? We did 
feel so, and we feel so still. [Great applause.] 

But we hope for better days. We look fbr the time when England 
will see that she consults neither her true interest, nor her true 
honor, when she indulges unfraternal sentiments towards America. 
And we rejoice to know that there are illustrious men on the other 
side of the Atlantic, who dare to rebuke such sentiments, whenever 
uttered. 

Among those who have thus spoken, — among those upon whom 
we must rely for the return of amity, and fraternal sentiments, and 
christian good will, — is the honored gentleman who has just addressed 
you. In your name, in the name of my own fellow citizens of the 
great State beyond the Alleghanies, in the name of all the loyal 
men and women of America, I thank him. [Applause.] 

Nor do we forget, when we count Englishmen entitled to the 
gratitude of Americans, the name of John Bright, whose letter has 
just been referred to. He pleads for peace ; but peace with freedom 
and an undivided Republic. For such a peace we pray. We do not 
make war because we love it. We make war because we love 
peace ; an.d we see no peace except in the suppression of the rebel- 
lion ; with which, we see clearly, must come the extinction of slavery. 

Nor, as entitled to equal esteem and honor, do we fail to remem- 
ber — Richard Cobden. He says that the true England is the 
English people, and not the English aristocracy ; and we rejoice in 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 141 

the belief that the English people, under his teachings and those of 
his associates, is sure to see that English interests will be best 
secured by the most cordial relations' with the Union. 

That the English people begin, at least, thus to see, is manifested 
by the great demonstration in favor of the Union, and Freedom, in 
America, by the workmen of Lancashire. No aristocratic teachings 
or influences can persuade or urge such men into infidelity to Free- 
dom. God bless the noble working people of England ! [Applause.] 

Let us trust, then, that when this storm of war shall have ceased 
to rage, and our country, restored, redeemed, regenerated, in all the 
strength of her vast resources, and in all the energy of labor un- 
shackled by a single fetter, shall have resumed her place among the 
nations, we may have a kind communing with the people of Eng- 
land and their honored representatives ; and that all causes of differ- 
ences between the two countries may receive a happy adjustment. 
May we not, then, renew the hope, rudely disturbed by later events, 
that England and America may resume their united lead in the 
march of just national ideas of freedom and free government ; and 
that, at last, the prophetic thought of an English Poet may find 
expression in the great fact of 

" The Parliament of Man— the Federation of the World ?" 

If that time shall indeed come, among the names which shall be 
counted worthy of honor, will be those of the men who have founded, 
and of the men who have restored, the Union of these States ; nor 
will they be counted as worthy of less, who, like Cocden, and 
Bright, and Smith, in the midst of influences the most depressing, 
have resolutely maintained, in another land, the claims of Right, 
and Truth, and Freedom, in behalf of America. [Prolonged 
applause.] 



The President of the Day, with a few pleasant words, 
introduced his classmate, the Hon. Charles Thurber, of 
Brooklyn, N. Y., who repeated the following poem : 



142 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

Hail ! Alma Mater, Reverend Mother, hail ! 

'Twas at your summons we have gathered here ; 
Had it but come from Harvard or from Yale, 

Each son of Brown had turned his deafest ear. 

But when your voice, so sweet and soft and clear, 
Rang in our ears, 'twas quite a different thing ; 

It seemed a voice that used to guide and cheer ; 
And, oh ! it thrilled the heart's divinest string, 
And we came bounding here on youth's elastic wing. 

The clock has struck — a hundred years are gone, 

And a new century enters at the door ; 
But still Brown's soul " is marching, marching on," 

As fresh as ever for the ages more. 

Your sons grow weak long ere a century's o'er, 
And. have to leave life's pleasures and employs. 

While Mother Brown, you're buoyant as before ; 
For whate'er else old Father Time destroys, 
He has not touched your skill in finance and in boys. 

Our retrospects of this old homestead seem — 

Though varying somewhat as the ones that view — 

To all Brown's sons a very pleasant dream, 
Tinged, it may be, with nightmare to a few : 
And who can doubt that every one, anew, 

His College lustrum would with joy begin, 
Were 't not, alas ! for that confounded screw, 

And that old bell with its unwelcome din, 

And, most of all, the doubts about his getting in ? 

True, you're not rich as men count riches now, 

And you're not poor, if tried by unpaid duns, 
For when bills come that must be paid, somehow, 

They're paid, instanter, by your unweaned sons. 

But if, sometimes, they mount to mighty ones, 
And the dread totals, 'neath the columns, frown, 

And the old homestead fast to ruin runs, 
You know the Treasurer pays the money down, 
And when the Treasurer's blue, he quickly turns to Brown. 



CENTENNIAL DINNEB. 143 

'Tis true, dear Brown, that you're excelled in girth, 

By many a sister in our glorious west ; 
But 'tis not there that we're to look for worth, 

But where one's mission is enacted best. 

You could expand, if that were merit's test, 
Until you should the very climax cap ; 

Like some young eagle that outgrows its nest, 
Or some fat boy, fed on maternal pap, 
You might become too large to sit in Rhoda's lap. 

What, although fewer of learning's devotees 

Flock to your shrine for inspiration there ? 
Those LL. D.s and very rare D. D.s 

On your triennial, tell us who they are ; 

And as a merit far more rich and rare 
Than all I've woven in my humble lay, 

You've trained your children with such skill and care, 
That, though a few bear these degrees away, 
The rest might bear them off" about as well as they, 

Thanks, glorious Brown, for offering us in youth, 

At Reason's feast, that overflowing bowl : 
We sigh, sometimes, that of that proffered truth, 

We got so little, when we might the whole. 

Still, we oft feel a pressure on the soul, 
And stagger 'neath the literary freight, 

With feelings we've no potence to control ; 
But still this load has one peculiar trait, 
It is its lightness crushes us, and not, alas ! its toeigkt. 

But still we thank you more than we'll discuss, 

For all you did and all you made us do ; 
Whate'er we did not, we set down to us, 

Whate'er we did, we set it down to you ; 

And were we now to strike the balance true, 
'Twixt what you did and what we left undone, 

And place the balance where the victory's due, 
'T would be so plain that he that reads may run — 
You'd find, dear Mother Brown, we beat you two to one. 



144 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

Ah ! Brown, good learning's refuge and defence, 
Thrice dear, to-day, to every happy guest, 

Like Roger Williams, safe in Providence, 
Enjoying freedom, and enjoying rest, 
No foeman here dares frighten or molest, 

Where " Law and Order," 'neath their Dorrie dome, 
Keep " ward and watch " with an undaunted breast ; 

For, in Rhode Island whate'er foe may come, 

He'll think of Fenner's ghost, and make his exit home. 

Oh ! how dyspeptic you must oft have been, 

When you, dear Brown, had two dread tasks to do : 
The first, to take some handsome fellows in, 

And then, to put the handsome fellows through. 

But, oh ! how happy it must make you, too, 
When all your boys, the dullest e'en of them, 

In three short years came back so learned, to you, 
And so prepared old error's tide to stem, 
That they can boldly stand demanding an A. M. 

When mild September, with the Fall, in tow 
Brings its mosquitoes and your sons to town, 

Your cleric sons, with labor weak and low, 

And your lay sons with business frittered down, 
All, to be doctored by their Mother, Brown, — 

When they're relieved of every ache and pain, 
And have put on Ambition's classic crown, 

They post off homeward in the earliest train, 

And very seldom come, Commencement day, again. 

Ah ! Alma Mater, if you really wish 

These grounds all covered, each Commencement day, 
Fill not too soon Ambition's waiting dish, 

But leave the vacuum gaping for the prey ; 

And when hope flags and almost dies away, 
And dreams but yearly of the dear degree, 

And they've as often joined this glad array, 
And have behaved as well as you and " me," 
Then, if you think it best, please give the rogues the D— 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 145 

We say, cui bono ? — when we wish to test 

The meed of merit where there's merit due ; 
So we can take your gauge of merit best 

When that cut bono is applied to you. 

Look all the land this side of Dixie through, — 
Don't look beyond, where hot rebellion stirs 

E'en good men up, some naughty things to do, — 
You'll find Brown's sons with spirits free as hers, 
And urging Progress' steeds with Roger Williams' spurs. 

What will your future, noble Brown, become, 

Before the centuries reach their final goal ? 
For, since our Miller has, at last, gone home, 

A few more centuries may conclude to roll ; 

And if they should, and you're still sound and whole, 
Till time's dim twilight shall go out in shade, 

Your magic will have thrilled from pole to pole, 
The world will prove far better for your aid, 
And progress, keeping step with music that you made. 

And when, at length, at Nature's last assize, 

All grades of actors gather at her bar, 
I do not think you'll share the smallest prize, 

Nor your fame kindle to a little star ; 

But your free spirit, without stain or scar, 
Will thrill their hearts who walk the streets of gold, 

And move along, without a jolt or jar, 
Among the spirits in the heavenly fold, 
And not, New England-like, left shivering in the cold. 

There is a law by Nature wisely penned, 

To guide earth's travelers in their passage through : — 
Draw not too freely on a generous friend, 

You'll be his slave forever if you do. 

And Wisdom, therefore, seems to tell you, too, 
Dive not too often into Rhoda's chest, 

However liberal she may be to you ; 
Then your own judgment will be duty's test, 
Without going down to see if Rhoda thinks it best. 

19 



146 CENTENNIAL DINNEK. 

A century old, sounds to our youthful ears, 

Like the sad notes of joy's funereal knell, 
But the rich harvest of a hundred years 

May make earth Heaven to those who use them well. 

Time, treated wisely, has a potent spell 
To lengthen life and give it added joy ; 

And it would need no rapt Isaiah to tell, 
That man might be in active life's employ, 
A century old, and still might die a blooming boy. 

A hundred years ! when your next hundredth year 

Knocks at your door, please send your summons out ; 
We pledge our honors that we'll all be here, 

If we are well enough to be about. 

But since there may be, I'm aware, some doubt, 
Tell them who're here, though uttered in a song, 

Yet, with a feeling, hearty and devout, 
That if, in person, we don't get along, 
We will, in spirit, come and mingle in the throng. 

Your hundredth birth-day ! when its work is done, 
And these gay scenes in which we mix are through, 

'Twill make us glad that we have been at one, 
And, sad to think, we cannot be at two : 
And when we vanish like the morning dew, 

May some green blades of moral beauty spring 
Up from the ashes of both me and you, 

And some mementos of our being bring, 

To prove that life, with us, was not a useless thing. 

But I must close. Perhaps it was my fault, 

That I arose to sing this simple air, 
For I've too little of the attic salt 

That makes a viand richly seasoned fare ; 

But since, commanded by the august chair, 
I should not dare tQ play the fugitive, 

But rather would that greater danger dare, 
And some reply, however humble, give, 
And say, if nothing more than Webster, "J still live." 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 147 

Friends and Alumni, 'tis with joy we meet 

Where but externals are the traits we view : 
God grant the meeting may be just as sweet, 

Where we shall meet and read each other through ; 

When, though we shall not, as to-day we do> 
Meet those who'll gather in this good old town, 

We shall, that day, these festal scenes renew, 
And with Alumni more than these, sit down, 
And, best of all, the Founders, Patrons, Teachers of Old Brown. 



The President referred to the presence of distinguished 
members of the bench and the bar, and asked the audience 
to unite with him in the sentiment — 

TJie Profession of the Laio. — We point, with pride, to the starred 
names upon her rolls, of the contributions made by our Alma 
Mater to the Bench and the Bar. We hail with equal pride the 
presence here of the living representative of both. 

He then called upon Chief Justice Ames, of the Supreme 
Court of Rhode Island, a graduate of the class of 1823, 
for a response. Judge Ames spoke as follows : 

Mr. President : — It is with unfeigned diffidence, after your allu- 
sion to names far more honored than that which I can boast, that I 
rise to respond, in part, to this toast. There are persons here we 
have long honored, as jurists, some of whom have come to touch 
almost the whole circle of the century which has just elapsed. 

I am sorry, sir, that, instead of calling upon me, you had not called 
upon one of these venerable jurisconsults, whose names have been 
so long borne upon the roll of our Alumni, with honor and respect, 
and trust that what little I may say, will be considered by them as 
only introductory to what they can say so much better. The science 
of jurisprudence, which so many here have essayed to compass, and 
which some of them have compassed in their degree, has undoubtedly 
received great expansion and improvement during the last century. 
As you well know, sir, this is not for the reason that the Judges 



148 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

and Jurists who lived a century, and more than a century, ago, are 
excelled by those who now fill their places in the land, from which 
we derive our laws and institutions. A hundred years ago, the 
great Lord Mansfield presided over the King's bench. A hun- 
dred years ago, Lord Hardwicke died, having, eight years before, 
resigned his place as Lord High Chancellor of England, — a judge 
whose name can never be pronounced without honor, by any jurist 
who truly estimates the labor he performed, not so much in creating, 
as in justly circumscribing the rules of that important branch of 
jurisprudence over which he so long presided. Half a century 
before, Sir John Holt presided, for twenty years or more, over the 
Queen's Bench in England — a judge who, whether is considered the 
great service which he rendered in the Commonwealth of England, 
to the liberty of the subject and the laws which guard it ; his learn- 
ing, derived from abroad as well as from the study of the jurispru- 
dence of his own country ; or that wisdom and good sense, which so 
eminently marked his judgments, stands, to this day, most honored 
amongst English judges. England cannot boast nobler names than 
the past furnishes, — men of greater learning or ability, or of greater 
eminence in the respective paths of jurisprudence which they trod. 
These were the great iconoclasts of their day ; they broke up the 
golden images of jurisprudential learning, which had before been 
worshipped at a distance, and made them the current coin of the 
profession, and of the world, and, in that way, performed the great 
service to jurisprudence, for which we, and all, do them honor. The 
jurisprudence of England rolls on in a deeper course, in a wider 
channel, from their liberal studies, and the liberal spirit with which 
they have endowed it. 

In our own country, sir, I need not say that our jurisprudence, as 
distinct from that of England, has been created since the century 
just past, began. Our federal judiciary had, within the century, its 
origin, and our State has been illustrated by the men who have 
dedicated themselves, on the bench and at the bar, to the develop- 
ment of our jurisprudence. In the presence of those assembled 
. here, it is unnecessary to say, how much academic and Collegiate 
institutions have contributed to this. After looking around me here, 
and recollecting the names upon your rolls, eminent in the history 
of the jurisprudence of the country, I need not say how much our 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 149 

University has contributed to the cause, which the sentiment just 
read commemorates and honors. Trusting, sir, that this good influ- 
ence has not ceased to operate, we may hope that eminent men, 
matured by the kindly care of this University, in libei-al studies, 
may yet arise, who, by the high morality and liberal policy of their 
opinions and judgments, may contribute still more to the noble cause 
of jurisprudence in the century yet to come. 

Ex-Chief Justice Williams, of Massachusetts, the oldest 
graduate present, a member of the class of 1801, gave some 
pleasant reminiscences of his College life. His remarks 
were written out by him, and read for him by the Rev. Dr. 
Caswell. 

They have, however, unfortunately not been preserved. 

The Hon. B. F. Thomas, of Boston, of the class of 
1830, having been called on by the President, spoke as 
follows : 

I have no speech, Mr. President. I felt quite sure that the appro- 
priate theme would be exhausted, as it has been, in the excellent 
address of the President of the University. I was also quite sure 
that, if any personal reminiscences of the past were wanting to give 
life to the picture, they would be forth coming from you and the 
venerable friends around you. Upon my entry into the College, I 
looked with awe upon yourself and your brethren of the Senior 
class. You were all then well stricken in years, and the then was 
far back in the last generation. Nothing would satisfy me you 
were not present at the laying of the corner stone. My only sur- 
prise is, your reticence on the subject. 

If I had desired to say a word as to the early life of the College, 
I should have been at a loss for the material. I turned to the 
admirable history of Rhode Island, by my friend, Mr. Arnold ; but 
the relations of the College with the State had not been so intimate 
that the history of the State would embrace that of the College. 
Rhode Island has a record of which her people may well be proud ; 



150 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

but doting on the College has not been one of her infirmities. She 
may justly be proud of it. It has done a good and great work* 
Comparatively few men have left these halls who have given them- 
selves to literature as a pursuit, and have been eminent as scholars 
and writers. But when the hard work of life has to be done, 
demanding well-trained, vigorous, practical powers, her sons have 
been found, in the chair of instruction, in the pulpit, at the bar, on 
the bench, in the halls of legislation. The sons of no other College 
have won more largely of what are usually deemed the honors and 
prizes of life. But, her children should remember that, though the 
o-ood mother can't live on bread alone, she can't live without bread. 
But I must be careful or I shall be making a speech. 

When I graduated, Mr. President, Dr. Wayland, (our master, 
wise and good,) asked me to write a short poem for Commencement. 
I declined. It was a sensible thing to do, but not very gracious. I 
have felt ever since that I owed the Doctor that poem. It is rather 
late, but I must pay the debt. But don't forget, Mr. President, 
that the debt is a poem from a boy of seventeen. 

POEM. 

Hope of our youth ! resume thy sway — 
From threads of sunlight, braid the strand 

By which we moor our bark, to-day, 
On boyhood's fresh and merry land. 

Fill to the brim, this failing cup, 

With wine from memory's vintage won ; 

These brooding shadows, lift them up - 
As mists are lifted by the sun. 

Thy light, the gates of joy, unbars, 

And hearts of stone to transport, wakes ; 

As Memnon, silent with the stars, 
Touched by the sun, to music breaks. 

Allured by thee, Spring re-appears, 

And, in her train, the happy hours, 
When smiles were nestling in our tears, 

And sunbeams dancing in the showers. 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 151 

These wrinkles on the brow, or frowns, 

Thy dewy fingers smooth away, 
And to these sombre Alpine crowns, 

Give back the warmer tints of May. 

If clouds be hanging o'er our lot, 

Thy silver hues their edges line ; 
The cares of life, its griefs forgot, 

We breathe the airs of " Auld Lang Syne. 

Back to its fountain winds the stream, 

The man gives place unto the boy ; 
The siege of Richmond's but a dream, 

While we renew the siege of Troy : 

With Jason, seek the Golden Fleece — 

(Fleecers in later times are found); 
The " Clouds " with Aristophanes, 

More built on now than solid ground : 

From Plato's mouth the honey sip ; 

The prescient swarm of Attic bees 
That settled on his infant lip, 

Could never cross iEgean seas : 

With Horace drink Falernian wine ; 

No later grape hath such a bloom ; 
The clusters of no other vine 

Are redolent of such perfume : 

Or sail upon the lovely bay, 

Whose wave the summer twilight gilds ; 
While fancy has her freest play 

And Hope her airiest castle builds : 

Or linger in some genial home 

Of daughters, beautiful and bright, 
As Venus breaking through the foam 

Or sparkling on the brow of night : 



152 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

Timid as fawn in forest aisle 
Affrighted by a rustling gown, 

Basking in beauty's beaming smile 
Or shivering in her slightest frown. 

Are there no clouds ? Rise with the day, 
And brushing through the morning dew 

With trembling knee and lip, essay 
The use and practice of the " screw." 

Or see a live man take a " dead," 

O'er Isoperimetric curves ; 
The brief post mortem may be read, 

" Of calculus upon the nerves." 

O William Hamilton ! how slow 
It crept into the Prases' bones, 

That Brown bred boys would never grow 
On differential little stones ! 

Lift the thin clouds, the Agora fill, 
And from the Bema catch the tone 

Which wielded Athens at its will 
And shook the Macedonian throne. 

Or Tullt's hear, as Sappho's lyre, 
For Archias and his art divine, 

But riving, as with bolts of fire, 
The secret league of Catiline. 

The lights of ancient eloquence 

Blending their rays in one, behold ; 

Wit, passion, grace, colossal sense, 
In Webster's words of molten gold. 

As ocean, and the heaving tide, 
As noonday, and the glorious sun, 

As heavenly spirit and the bride, 
Freedom and Union are but one. 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 153 

One, in the travails of the womb, 

In every throb of being, one, — 
One, both in glory and in gloom, 

In life, in death, forever one. 

"We may not lift, God, the veil, 

We would not see the depths beyond ; 
But let our prayers and arms prevail, 

To give us back the ancient bond. 

Or fondly turn we to the words 

Which from the living Master steal, 
Piercing, perchance, as two-edged swords, 

Yet, piercing but to probe and heal. 

Within the inner temple's gates 

Was wrought thy work, and built thy shrine ; 
The loving spirit on thee waits, 

A thousand grateful hearts are thine. 

O boyhood's land of dreams and hopes ! 

The ladder, feet of seraphs prest, 
Resting upon thy radiant slopes, 

Rose to the mansions of the blest. 

Angels of joy, and light, and love, 

Upon the youthful dreamer, wait ; 
The world below, the world afcove, 

"Were unto him, but one estate. 

'Tis but a dream — a fleeting dream, 

A ray from fading memories cast, 
From graves of buried hopes a gleam 

That flickers feebly, — and is past. 

Such scenes the traveler delude, — 

Mirages, in the desert land, 
Of glassy lake, and verdant wood, 

While all around is burning sand. 



20 



154 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

It was but yesterday, and Hope 

Was whispering of eternal spring ; 
To-day, we're on the shady slope, 
' And Hope is folding up her wing. 

And many a friend with hope as bold, 
Whose buoyant step beside us trod, 

Is absent from the gathered fold, 
At rest, — the final rest with God. 

Dear classmate m the ocean isle, 
True son of sire to glory dear, 

Gentle and noble, fre© from guile, 

Or stain, Grant Perry, art thou here ? 

Scholar and statesman, wise and good, 
My more than teacher, friend, and guide, 

Does thy pure spirit o'er us brood ? 

Art thou, dear Goddard, by our side ? 

None absent ! all are here to-day, 
For memory fills each vacant place ; 

Death's icy barrier melts away, 
And we behold them face to face. 



The President alluded to the presence of distinguished 
officers of the army, and* called upon Major-General Burn- 
SIDE, for a response to the following sentiment : 

Our Honorary and Regular Graduates in the Army — Decus et 
Prcesidium. 

General Burnside, on rising, was greeted with great 
applause, and cheers, and the roll of the drum, and spoke as 
follows : 

When our nation was in danger, it became the duty of every citi- 
zen to do all in his power to aid the existing authorities in their 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 155 

efforts to stay the danger. By the fulfillment of their duty, our 
army, I may say our gallant, efficient, army, was created ; and no 
unimportant element of that army was constituted by the gallant 
volunteers from this noble State, who were almost the first to go to 
the Capital for its defence ; and among them, were many of the dis- 
tinguished graduates of this noble institution, who have performed 
noble and gallant service in our army, and of whom many are now 
performing such service ; and I, as one who has been dignified and 
honored by the title of an honorary graduate of Brown University, 
beg to thank you for the kind remembrance in which you have held 
those graduates on this auspicious day. 

But, my friends, I may be excused if I say to you that, whilst we 
should remember the services of these gentlemen, and the estimation 
in which they are held by the community, we should not forget that 
a duty devolves upon us which we should be induced to perform, 
from the same motives which induced them to go to the field. A 
duty devolves upon us to support and foster that army. It should 
be encouraged. It should be re-enforced. It is actuated by princi- 
ples which have been taught to its prominent members, by this 
institution and kindred institutions in our country, and it is now 
essentially composed of a body of men who are determined to do all 
in their power to re-establish the authority of the government over 
every foot of its territory, and to see that all causes of bickering 
shall be forever eradicated from our social system. In order that 
they may be able to accomplish this, it devolves upon us to do all 
in our power to sustain them. There can be no such thing as the lay- 
ing down of arms, or a cessation of hostilities, until the entire author- 
ity of this government is acknowledged by every citizen of our 
country. Any action of that kind, on the part of our people, would, 
my friends, I assure you, result in the overrunning of our border, and 
a positive, determined demand for indemnity to men who are now 
raising their hands against the government which never did them 
aught but good. There can be no such thing as compromise, until 
the absolute and positive authority of the government is acknowl- 
edged. 

Now, my friends, you have put this army into the field, and placed 
it under the control and direction of prominent, successful leaders. 
The news of the last few days should convince every true friend to 



156 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

his country, that our western army is led by as good and true a sol- 
dier as ever marched to battle ; and who will dare to say that he who 
is in command of all our armies, is not a gallant, loyal and truthful 
soldier ? Is there a man within the sound of my voice, who doubts 
the honesty and ability of Lieutenant- General Grant ? Is it not 
the duty of every loyal citizen of the United States, to support him ? 
Would it not be cowardly for us to say that this rebellion cannot be 
crushed, and the authority of the government sustained ? There is 
in my mind, no question of it. Our army is not a mercenary army. 
It is composed of our own citizens. Every praying man in the 
army, — and there are a great many more of them than we are apt 
to imagine, — I say, every praying man, in our army, asks of God, 
daily, almost hourly, that peace may be re-established ; but whilst 
that desire is uppermost in his heart, no honest, loyal, and true sol- 
dier will ever consent to a division of his country. 

We can do much here to encourage and re-enforce our armies in 
the field. They not only want numbers, but they want encourage- 
ment ; and we should all cease from making discouraging remarks, 
from writing discouraging letters, and using influences which weaken 
men that we have sent to the field. 

I beg that I may be excused for having dwelt so prominently 
upon this topic. 

I will content myself with thanking you for the kind remembrance 
in which you are pleased to hold the graduates and honorary gradu- 
ates of your institution, who have been, and are now, in the army. 



The President remarked that Major John Hay, of the 
class of 1858, had, at the request of the Committee, prepared 
some verses for the occasion, and, being unable to be 
present, had sent the lines. He called on Professor J. B. 
Angell to read them. 

They are as follows : 



A hundred times the bells of Brown 
Have rung to sleep the idle summers, 

And still, to-day, clangs clamoring down 
A greeting to the welcome comers. 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 157 

And far, like waves of morning, pours 

Her call, in airy ripples breaking, 
And wanders to the farthest shores, 

Her children's drowsy hearts awaking. 

The wild vibration floats along, 

O'er heart-strings tense its magic plying, 
And wakes in every breast its song 

Of love and gratitude, undying. 

My heart to meet the summons leaps 

At limit of its straining tether, 
Where the fresh western sunlight steeps 

In golden flame the prairie heather. 

And others, happier, rise and fare 

To pass within the hallowed portal, 
And see the glory shining there, 

Shrined in her steadfast eyes immortal. 

What though their eyes be dim and dull, 
Their heads be white in reverend blossom ; 

Our Mother's smile is beautiful 

As when she bore them on her bosom ! 

Her heavenly forehead bears no line 

Of Time's iconoclastic fingers, 
But o'er her form the grace divine 

Of deathless youth and wisdom lingers. 

We fade and pass, grow faint and old, 

Till youth, and joy, and hope are banished, 

And still her beauty seems to fold 
The sum of all the glory vanished. 

As while Tithonus faltered on 

The threshold of the Olympian dawnings, 

Aurora's front eternal shone 

With lustre of the myriad mornings ; 



158 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

So joys that slip like dead leaves down, 
And hopes burnt out that die in ashes, 

Rise restless from their graves to crown 
Our Mother's brow with fadeless flashes. 

And lives wrapped in tradition's mist, 
These honored halls, to-day, are haunting ; 

And lips by lips long withered kissed, 
The Sagas of the past are chanting. 

Scornful of absence's envious bar, 

Brown smiles upon the mystic meeting 

Of those, her sons, who sundered far, 
In brotherhood of heart are greeting : 

Her wayward children, wandering on 
Where setting stars are lowly burning, 

But still in worship toward the dawn 

That gilds their souls' dear Mecca, turning ; 

Or those, who armed for God's own fight, 

Stand by his word through fire and slaughter, 

Or bear our banner's starry light, 

Far flashing through the Gulf's blue water. 

For where one strikes for light and truth, 
The right to aid, the wrong redressing, 
The mother of his spirit's youth 

Sheds o'er his soul her silent blessing. 

She gained her crown a gem of flame 

When Kneass fell dead in victory gory ; 

New splendor blazed upon her name 

When Ives' young life went out in glory ! 

Thus bright forever may she keep 

Her fires of tolerant Freedom burning, 

Till war's red eyes are charmed to sleep, 
And bells ring home the boys returning, 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 159 

And may she shed her radiant truth 

In largess on ingenuous comers, 
And hold the bloom of gracious youth 

Through many a hundred tranquil summers ! 

The next sentiment was : 

The Adopted Sons of the University — In welcoming them to her 
festival, our gracious Mother makes no distinction between the chil- 
dren of the whole, and those of the half, blood. 

Mr. George William Curtis, of New York, was called 
on to respond. He said : 

I thank you, sir, for your generous words, and you, gentlemen, for 
this kindly greeting. Yet I know it is not the boy who used to play 
over these hills, and who, later, in the grave shadow of Gray's Cam- 
bridge, and of Galileo's Padua, at Salerno and Bologna, most ancient 
of Universities, still fondly remembered Hope College and Univer- 
sity Hall — it is not he whom your welcome honors, but in him the 
illustrious company of your adopted children, quorum pars minima est. 

You, brothers and regular graduates, who wear your honors in the 
natural way, will pardon us our peculiar pride, that while our ven- 
erable Mother, in a certain sense, could not help having you, and, 
like other mothers, had to take you as you came, we are her chil- 
dren by choice, by adoption. Our feeling for you in the family, 
therefore, is much what Minerva's must have been for her sisters, 
the muses. They Avere born and painfully nurtured into adolescence. 
She sprang into the circle already mature. So, you were pale fresh- 
men, modest sophomores, timid juniors, bashful seniors ; you have 
undergone our Mother's tutoring, her marks, her suspensions, her 
rustications, her lectures, her punishments, her prayers, and so, pain- 
fully ascended to your A. B.s. 

Three years more devoted by you to philosophical study and 
various profound research, made you A. M.s, for you will indig- 
nantly repudiate the malevolence of a late writer, who says that the 
University degree of A. M. simply implies that a man has got de- 
cently through College, and then survived three years. We, however, 



160 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

have never felt our Mother's censure, but only her caresses, as we 
do now. We, in one instant, leaped forth full-panoplied A. M.s, 
D. D.s, S. T. D.s, LL. D.s, to our own delighted surprise, and the 
endless amazement of our incredulous friends. We, honorary gradu- 
ates, without trouble to ourselves or to Alma Mater, are the offspring 
of her generous impulse. Tou, honored brethren and regular 
graduates, are the children of a prolonged Brown study ! Our bond 
of union is scholarship. But to what end is scholarship ? Let him 
answer, Sir Philip Sidney, the English scholar of three hundred 
years ago. " To what purpose should our thoughts be directed to 
various kinds of knowledge, unless room be afforded for putting it 
into practice, so that public advantage may be the result ?" But 
while this truth is in your minds and on my tongue, while you seek 
among these, for whom I speak, and to whom you have granted 
scholastic honors, those who have given ail their knowledge, all their 
skill to public service, I see you glance around this table, and ask, 
as you seek the shining example, what McDowell, looking for the 
tried soldier, asked, when he saw, at the first Bull Run, that there 
was to be sharp fighting. He rose in Ms saddle ; his eyes swept 
the field ; the words leaped from his lips — " Where is Burnside ?" 

One more, sir. Another of your children, by adoption, is not 
here. No man of ail our statesmen, more scholarly than he. When 
all shook, he was steadfast. When all was dark, his eye flashed 
victory. You have invited him to-day, but he cannot come, for he 
is putting his various kinds of knowledge into practice. Yet, he 
sends a message. He spoke in the appalling tumult of the opening 
war. It was the clear bugle-call of heroic loyalty that rang trium- 
phant through that fierce yell of rebellion, and brought the bewil- 
dered nation to its feet : " If any man hauls down the American 
flag, shoot him on the spot." 

Yes, sir, we meet as scholars, but with no forced or timorous 
avoidance of the solemn thought of the hour. It is an insult to lite- 
rature and to man, to whisper, during a fierce contest for civil order, 
that politics are unfavorable to literary leisure. Is the scholar a 
sheep, that he should bleat peace when the wolves are abroad ? 
Literary leisure ! To what, in the name of justice, is literary leisure 
favorable, bought at such cost of manhood as that ? There is no 
fairer passage in the life of our University, than the brief record in our 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 



161 



brother Arnold's history, that when the enemy landed in Newport 
in 1776 : "The College exercises were suspended, and the building 
was occupied as barracks, and afterwards, as a military hospital." I 
do not doubt that the College would respond now as it responded 
then ; and, meanwhile, that the enemy is farther away, I am glad to 
believe that Hope College and University Hall are each barracks 
four stories high, crowded with sons of liberty, and that Manning 
and Rhode Island Halls are not only schools of learning, but hospi- 
tals for the thorough cure of lame loyalty and paralytic patriotism. 

It has too long been the reproach of scholars that they were para- 
sitic, — content to be the ornaments, not the springs of political power, 
nourishing a false and, therefore, fatal conservatism. But the artist, 
Michael Angelo, is never a nobler figure than when strengthen- 
ing the walls of Florence against her foes, and Archimedes never 
manlier than when he puts various kinds of knowledge into practice 
that public advantage may be the result, by burning the hostile 
Roman fleet with mirrors. Se non e vero, e ben trovato. If the story 
be not true, it shows the instinct of the heart, the popular instinct, 
that, in every time of emergency, the men who go ahead should be 
the educated and the intelligent. 

Let who will, therefore, plead, with Montaig-ne, that politics are 
not favorable to literary leisure, and so withdraw to their chateaux 
and literary leisures. Not so did John Milton, greatest of Eng- 
lish scholars, in the civil wars of England. His was no fugitive," no 
cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed. Forever reverend 
in the history of scholars — all the glory of genius, all the spoils 
of learning,- he laid upon the altar of patriotism, giving the power of 
the poet and the accomplishment of the scholar to the duty of the 
patriot. And, sir, no more splendid vision did the sightless bard 
behold, than that which the patriot Milton saw, and which, at this 
very moment, while the land shakes with the glad exultation of 
national victory, we may seize from his lips as a prophecy : 

" Methinks I see in my mind, a noble and puissant nation, rousing 
herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible 
locks ; methinks I see her as an eagle muing her mighty youth, and 
kindling her undazzled eyes at the full midday beam ; purging and 
unsealing her long abused sight at the fountain itself of heavenly 
radiance ; while the whole noise of timorous and flocking birds, with 
those also that love the twilight, flutter about, amazed at what she 
21 



162 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

means, and in their envious gabble would prognosticate a year of 
sects and schisms." 

Such be our satisfaction, sir and brothers ; such be the vision that 
we behold to-day, on this academic mount. And as we go hence, 
to-morrow, let it be our Alma Mater's joyful pride that she sees us 
truer to God, truer to man, truer to our country, because we are 
scholars, and because her hand of benediction has been laid upon 
our heads. 



The following sentiment was read by the President of the 
Day: 

" The Memory of the Founders and Benefactors of the University — 
It stands, to-day, a monument to their liberality, and their devotion 
to the interests of good learning." 

Rev. Dr. Caswell responded as follows : 

Mr. President : — After it was intimated to me, by the Commit- 
tee of Arrangements, that I should be expected to respond to this 
sentiment, I could not help turning over in my mind several things, 
which I thought it would be pertinent to say on this subject. But 
the lateness of the hour constrains me to throw aside, entirely, what 
I had intended to utter ; and what I now have to say must be wholly 
independent of that design. 

We are here, my brethren, to honor the Founders of this Univer- 
sity. We have been delighted in listening to the pleasing reminis- 
cences of a hundred years, and no man more so than myself. But 
let us come back to the business of this day, — that of honoring the 
Founders and Benefactors of this institution. What did they do a 
hundred years ago ? And what have they done since ? 

A hundred years ago, a few Christian people in this State, of dif- 
ferent denominations, happily living together in peace, united their 
efforts in the establishment of this College. How far this spirit of 
amity was due to the society of Friends, then numerous and influen- 
tial in the community, — and whose forbearance and charity enabled 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 163 

them to live in peace, with any body not bent upon quarreling, — I 
do not know. I think, however, it was mainly due to the general 
prevalence, in Rhode Island, of the sentiment, which seems indige- 
nous to the soil, that a difference of religious opinions among neigh- 
bors is no ground of offence, and no bar to co-operation, in works 
for the public good wherein all are agreed. These Christian peo- 
ple, as I said, determined to unite their labors to establish, in the 
language of the Charter, " a catholic, comprehensive and liberal 
institution." For reasons, deemed by them good and sufficient, they 
agreed to give to one of these denominations the ascendency in its 
management, at the same time, guaranteeing to all the others rights 
and privileges, which should not be violated or infringed, through 
all time. Jealous, moreover, of the religious liberty of all, they 
further provided that no religious test should ever be admitted 
into the institution ; and further, that all students, without regard to 
religious opinions, should be admitted on perfectly free and equal 
terms. And this they called " a catholic, comprehensive and liberal 
institution." Is there any one here, to-day, to dispute the title? 
The institution has been maintained on the principles of its Found- 
ers, from its commencement to the present time. And, though small 
in its beginnings, it has, by the ability of its teachers and the munifi- 
vcence of its benefactors, attained the very honorable position which 
it now holds among our American Colleges. 

"We are now entering upon the threshhold of a second century of 
its history. Are we ready for the campaign ? Have we all the 
requisites for a successful career in the century before us ? We, 
who stand here, to-day, will not see its termination. But those, 
who come after us will stand on this hill, green with verdure and fresh 
as now, and speak of this day, and of these proceedings, and of the 
men here assembled. Can you doubt it ? Can you doubt that Lit- 
erature, Science, Freedom and Liberty will flourish here a hundred 
years to come ? I do not in the least. I have faith in Providence, 
in public virtue, in Christian charity. I believe the men who shall 
stand here a hundred years hence, will look abroad and bless God 
for the prosperity of the second century of Brown University. 

But this prosperity will not be achieved by a miracle. It will be 
done by the co-operation of men, — of men capable of feeling the 
power of a great purpose ; of men, not cramped and shackled, and 



164 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

bound down to the selfish and sordid enjoyments of the world, but 
ready to give themselves, nay, sacrifice themselves, to an object 
which will be honored in all time. To carry a great purpose into 
effect, there must be liberality and self-sacrifice. 

I would ask, then, is our Alma Mater all ready to enter upon her 
second century of honored service ? Has she all the appliances she 
needs for philosophical research ; all the books she needs for critical, 
philological, historical progress ? Has she the means of command- 
ing and retaining the best talent on her corps of instruction ? Or is 
she in danger of losing one and another of her able professors for 
some more lucrative employment ? 

Gentlemen, this is the age and the time for generous sacrifices, 
[nstitutions of learning, devoted to the interests of civilization and 
Christianity, will demand our warmest support. Will devotion, 
think you, to the mere business of gathering and hoarding the dust 
that perishes with the using, accord with the requirements of the 
age ? 

Gentlemen, we want endowments for this University, in order 
that we may carry high science to the door of the humblest citizen — 
that no gifted^ poor young man, who aspires to eminence, may be 
denied the privilege and opportunity of attaining to it. No poor 
man ever could pay the cost of his education ; it is not expected. 
If that were the rule, none but the affluent could ever enjoy the 
benefit of high culture. The object of endowments is, that libe- 
ral culture in science and literature may be accessible to the sons 
of the humblest citizens ; nay, to the alien and the stranger that is 
within our borders. This was the object of the founders. This 
truly noble object can be accomplished. Will there ever be a better 
time to do it, than now ? 

Will the gentlemen here present be content to retire from this 
hill without leaving some memorial of their interest in their Alma 
Mater ? To these honored and liberal Alumni, I would respectfully 
say, will it be creditable to us, to allow this day to pass without a 
united effort to do something to signalize this rare, this grand occa- 
sion, and make it stand out, in the history of the University, as a 
beacon light to coming generations ? 

When it was suggested to me that I should say a few words in 
honor of the Founders, I replied that the corollary to such a speech 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 165 

would be a call for further endowments ; and if we could find the man 
who would head a subscription with five or ten thousand dollars, I 
would speak with all my heart. I think the least that we ought to do, 
is to raise thirty thousand dollars for the endowment of a professor- 
ship. I am willing to say twice or treble that amount, for two or 
three of them. And now, gentlemen, I will give one thousand dol- 
lars for the endowment of a professorship, provided you will find 
others within thirty days, who will give twenty-nine thousand more. 
This will be an enduring memorial to leave behind us. Can we 
better honor the Founders of the University, or better honor our- 
selves? Who has ever looked upon the beautiful monument of 
James Watt, in Westminster Abbey, and not felt that the English 
people did honor to themselves in thus honoring the memory of that 
great mechanician ? Who has ever looked upon the splendid monu- 
ment of Walter Scott, in Edinburg, and not felt that the Athens 
of Scotland exalted her own fame in honoring him, whose magic 
pen has charmed the world ? Who has ever looked upon the beau- 
tiful monument to the Martyrs, in old Oxford — to Latimer, Rid- 
ley and Cranmer, whose ashes mingle with the common dust of 
her streets — and not felt that this monument was, if not her crown- 
ing glory, essential to the completeness of her fame. I confess, that 
her classic shades, her velvet " quads," her moss grown and crum- 
bling edifices, even her great Bodleian Library, failed to make so 
deep an impression on my mind, as her monument to the Martyrs of 
our holy faith. We may commemorate our Founders and Benefac- 
tors by rearing to their memories enduring monuments of brass and 
stone. But we may — to do better than this — imitate tbeir example, 
and link our names for all time, with some of the best names of our 
State and country. 

Owing to the lateness of the hour, it was now deemed 
inexpedient to prolong the exercises. The assembly were, 
therefore, dismissed with the benediction by the Chaplain of 
the Day. 

Several gentlemen, who had been invited to speak, were 
thus prevented from doing so. They, however, at the 
request of the Committee, spoke at the Commencement Din- 



166 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

ner, on the following day ; and their remarks, as belonging 
to the Exercises of the Centennial Celebration, are subjoined. 
President Sears called upon the Hon. Henry B. An- 
thony, United States Senator from Ehode Island, to 
speak. 

Mr. Anthony referred to the time, one hundred years ago, when 
wise and liberal men laid the foundations of this institution ; when 
this city was little more than a flourishing commercial village ; 
when the American colonies were the loyal dependencies of George 
III ; and, in all the Continent, there was not one independent gov- 
ernment ; when the Bourbon sat secure on the throne of France, 
and Frederick was enlarging the boundaries and consolidating the 
power of Prussia. How mighty the changes ! How bas the whole 
face of society and civilization been altered ? 

A hundred years from this day — we will not doubt it — another 
assembly will gather on this spot, to celebrate the two hundredth 
anniversary, as we have celebrated the hundredth, of this Univer- 
sity. Of all that number, there will not be one who now breathes 
the breath of life. Some venerable man may relate that he remem- 
bers to have heard his father speak of this presence and this scene, — 
how we paused, in the midst of civil war, to exchange fraternal 
greetings around the table of our Alma Mater, and to thank God 
for the blessings of learning and science. How will they look back 
upon the century that is to come, as we look back upon that which 
has CT one ? What events will occur to them, and in what quarter of 
the world, to correspond with the rise and power of the American 
States ; the emancipation of the Spanish American colonies ; the 
overthrow of the Bourbons ; the wonderful career of Napoleon, 
with all its consequences to all Europe ; the introduction of western 
civilization into India; the commencement of the civilization of 
Africa ; the opening of China and Japan ? What triumphs of 
mechanism and science, like the steam engine, the power printing 
press, the railroad, the magnetic telegraph, and the hundreds of 
inventions that make wood and iron do the work of human hands, 
and bind the elements to the service of man ? Vain speculations ! 
It is not given to human eyes to penetrate the thick darkness that 
hangs over the future ! 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 167 

But a portion of the history that is to come, is within our own 
control ; not the event — that is with God alone — but the record that 
we shall leave for ourselves, the testimony that we shall compel 
from those that come after us. To us, of the living generation, have 
been committed interests of humanity and civilization, as high as 
have ever been entrusted to human keeping. It is for us to say 
whether the work accomplished by our fathers shall be protected 
and carried on and consummated, or whether their toil and sacrifices 
were in vain, and their wisdom was folly, because they trusted in us. 
However great may be the events of the century in which we live, 
it cannot be doubted that those now passing before our eyes will 
form a conspicuous part of its history ; and those who participate in 
them will be remembered, for good or for evil. The humblest may 
say " non omnis moriar ;" the least can find no obscurity that Avill 
not be lighted up by the fires of this great conflagration. I would 
not have the presumption to remind those whom I am addressing, 
of their duties in this great emergency. Enough that we all under- 
stand that our highest public duty is, to maintain the authority of 
this government and the integrity of these States. Thus shall we 
prove that our fathers were not mistaken when they believed that 
man was fit for self government, and that those who were to follow 
them would vindicate it. Thus shall we prove that history and phi- 
losophy are not wrong, when they teach us that civilization advances 
with more rapid strides, and scatters its blessings with more liberal 
hands, under institutions where labor is sweetened by the hope of 
reward, and dignified by the consciousness of independence. 



The President referred pleasantly to a College acquaint- 
ance, and introduced the Hon. Lafayette S. Foster, 
Senator in Congress, from Connecticut, who spoke substan- 
tially as follows : 

Mr. President : — It is not my privilege to be often present at 
these Commencement festivals, this being the first, I believe, which 
I have attended since you have presided over this institution. On 
this occasion, it being an anniversary of so much interest to all the 
sons of the institution, I felt that in coming, I was but performing a 



168 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

most grateful, filial duty. I profess an attachment to these scenes 
and to this institution. No man, after the lapse of thirty years, can 
go back to the scenes of his eai'ly education, without the deepest 
emotions. If he can, I do not envy him his feelings. We call the 
institution where we graduate, our Alma Mater, — using that, I sup- 
pose, as a generic term, to describe all the advantages embraced in 
our collegiate education. I propose to allude more particu- 
larly to him who presided over it at the time I was graduated, your 
own immediate predecessor, and, as he is not here, I can with the 
more freedom, and without indelicacy, say that I owe to that man 
more than to any other, now living in the world. I feel it to be a 
duty, as it certainly is a pleasure, for me to acknowledge it here. 

The institution, sir, that is now one hundred years old, had its 
origin in troublous times. The difficulties between the American 
colonies and the parent country, were then assuming a serious atti- 
tude. It had been proposed to tax the colonies. Sir Robert 
Walpole, the Prime Minister of England, when the suggestion 
was made to him, replied, with wisdom, " I will leave that to those 
who have more courage than I have." His successors, if they had 
more courage, had not more wisdom, at least, in that particular ; but 
Lord Grenville, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in March, 1764, 
just before the incorporation of this institution, gave notice in Par- 
liament, that he would apply the stamp act to the colonies, and that 
stamp act imposed a tax even upon College diplomas. It became a 
law in March, 1765, the first year of the existence of this institution, 
and we all know what followed, — the long years of trial of the Revo- 
lution, during which time the labors of this University, as a literary 
institution, were suspended. It was used for barracks for soldiers, 
and not until after several years had passed, were these literary labors 
resumed. After the lapse of a hundred years, we find that the insti- 
tution has made progress, has prospered, prospered wonderfully. 
Our country, too, has prospered wonderfully, although now we are 
under the dark cloud of war, calamity and affliction. I have faith 
in our country and in God, that we shall come out of this war as 
we came out of the Revolution, come out of it as gold comes out of 
the fire, and that our career through the centuries to come, will 
be resplendent and glorious. 

One peculiarity of this institution, is its independence of State 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 169 

patronage. This has its advantages as well as its disadvantages. 
No endowment from the State, as such, I believe, has ever been 
bestowed upon it. On the whole, I think the College has been the 
gainer by its independence. It has gained an independence, a self- 
reliance and energy, for the lack of which, the old Universities of 
Oxford and Cambridge now languish. 

Though the State has done so little for the College, the College 
has done very much for the State and the Nation. I will not 
enlarge upon this subject, but will say that every son of this institu- 
tion may feel an honest pride, in looking over her triennial catalogue, 
to see how many have been distinguished for their public services. 
I will name but two. The name of Wheaton, as a publicist, stands 
certainly among the first in modern times. No writer on public 
law has a higher or better deserved reputation than Henry Whea- 
ton. In England and Continental Europe, he is recognized as an 
authority, and as the very highest authority. Certainly, no name, in 
modern times, stands higher. The name of Marcy, as a statesman, 
may be pointed to by every member of this University, with an 
honest pride. The papers which emanated from that distinguished 
man, when he presided over the Department of State of the United 
States, may be compared with those of the most gifted minds which 
have had charge of the foreign office in Downing Street, with those 
of the ablest ministers of foreign affairs of France, Russia, Austria, 
Prussia, without disadvantage to our statesman. It is needless, 
were there time, that I should allude to the great number of those 
who have gone forth from here, who have graced the pulpit, the 
bench, the bar ; who have adorned the practice of medicine ; who 
have occupied proud positions in mercantile and manufacturing life, 
in the walks of business and among the artists. In every branch of 
honor and industry, the sons of this institution have not been behind 
the foremost ; and I take, Mr. President, great pleasure here, on her 
hundredth birth-day, in alluding to it. 

My friend (Senator Anthony) has alluded to the hundred years 
that are to come. We and our children will all have passed away. 
No one, having the most vivid imagination, can form any picture of 
the events which are to occur within that period. 

We may hope — I think we are entitled to hope — that this institu- 
tion will be celebrating its second centennial, with additional pomp, 
99 



170 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

and pride, and glory, to the present ; and, I trust, through the com- 
ing centuries these celebrations will increase in honor, as the insti- 
tution will increase in usefulness until the years shall end. 



The following poem by the Eev. M. A. WW. Howe, 
D. D., of the class of 1828, was prepared for the Centennial 
Dinner. Dr. Howe was called away on Commencement 
momma-, and therefore could not read it at the dinner on 
that day. 

Golden were the mists of morning, 

When we gained this classic height ; 
Hopes of life, afar, were dawning 

All roseate and bright ! 
No cloudlet ventured on the sky, 

The Heavens were only Light. 

We sported, — merry brothers all, — 

We toiled with book and pen, 
Constant at Chapel and in Hall, 

Aspiring to be men : — 
The weight of manhood's cares and griefs 

We had not tested then. 

We learned to love the fostering care 

To which we came with dread : 
Our step-dame wore a haughty air, 
( And moved with queenly tread ; 

Yet, still, a Mother's heart o'er all 

Its sentle influence shed. 

We fretted at her wise restraints. 

And called her rules severe ; 
Wearied our friends with sharp complaints, 

And vexed the public ear ; 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 171 

Because " Old Prex " in all our scrapes 
Was certain to appear. 

We tarried in our cloister bounds 

Through Morn, and Eve, and Night, 
Till Tutors, on their mousing rounds, 

Had seen that all was right ; 
Then sallied forth to greet our friends 

Or snatch a social bite : 

But wheresoe'er we went, were sure 

An " 0. P. F.," to meet, 
Just passing by the open door, 

As we regained the street ; 
Or loitering near the oyster shop 

To note our sly retreat. 

Next day the "sweep," brought compliments 

From mid-division room, 
Where sat " Old Prex," with brow immense, 

Looking exceeding glum — 
Requesting that all passengers 

To pay their fare would come ! 

The vigor of the new regime 

Found us in frolic mood ; 
For in King Asa's, it would seem, 

(Tradition calls him good,) 
All loved the gentle Sceptre's sway, 

But none in reverence stood. 

So when the " man of all work " came — 

Prof., President and Proctor — 
Still, to perpetuate our game, 

We tussled with the Doctor. 
Our Mother blushed, — her wayward boys 

So mortified and shocked her. 



172 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

We raved about the merit-roll, 

Which meted out our rank 
So equably, the veriest fool 

Chafed on the foremost's flank : 
We thought " 500 " worth scarce more 

Than " minus " or a blank. 

'Tis past ! — The years with lessons rife, 
Have taught that they who can — 

Crowned conq'rors in the common strife — 
Are but a few steps in the van 

Of mates who, in the rank and file, 
Pursue the march of life. 

We've learned that College discipline 

Alike of mind and will, — 
As sapling oaks their strength begin 

'Mid storms the flowers that kill, — 
Must buffet oft those manly gifts 

Which Heaven ordains to win. 

Our grateful hearts gush out to-day 
To bless that steadfast hand 

Which curbed us on our devious way ; 
And fitted us to stand, 

Each in his lot — to rule or serve — 
True patriots of the land. 

So, here upon the old domain, 
From distant fields we come ; 

These groves of Academe regain, 
And breathe once more at home, 

To sun in Alma Mater's smile, 
The hearts that never roam. 

Those slender Elms that scarce had thrown 
A shadow on the " Green," 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 173 

To stately forests now have grown, 

With graceful paths between ; 
And Halls of Science, deftly reared, 

Peer through the leafy screen. 

And what a regiment of boys 

Our step-darne since has drilled ! 
If all have made one-half the noise 

With which the house we filled, ^ 

We wonder she has not gone mad, 

Or died — of frolic killed. 

Perennial are the vital Springs 

With which her life-tide flows : 
Her voice with wonted accents rings, 

Her hand its cunning knows, 
And on her cheek, still fair and smooth, 

In freshness blooms the rose. 

We hail her in her ripened age, — 

Her still unblighted youth ! 
Defiant of the assailant's rage, 

The slanderer's venomed tooth, 
We pledge her through her after years 

Her children's love and truth. 

For some of us life's westering sun 

Sinks hastening down the heaven, 
And where the morning lustre shone 

Glow red tints of the even ; 
While to the Mother of us all 

Meridian light is given. 

More fruit in age may she bring forth ; 

Her quiver fullness crown ; 
The Sarah of the hopeful North— 

Her sons in every town ; 
Till Smiths and Joneses quail before 

The family of Brown. 



174 CENTENNIAL DINNER. 

In response to the sentiment — " The Profession of Instruction" — 
Professor John L. Lincoln spoke as follows : 

Mr. President : — It is a large and inviting theme, to which you 
have called me ; but, various and important as are its bearings upon 
this occasion, I shall not, at tbis late hour, presume to attempt its dis- 
cussion. I beg, however, to make my acknowledgments for the honor 
done me, in being asked to represent my colleagues in the Faculty, 
and the large body of the sons of the University, who are engaged 
in teaching, and to offer some remarks touching the profession to 
which we belong. Others there are here, I am well aware, on 
whom this agreeable task might have more fitly fallen ; but on no 
one, I venture to say, who is more attached to the profession than 
myself, or who cherishes a deeper sense of its intrinsic nobleness, 
and the glorious possibilities it offers of honor and usefulness. It 
is, sir, a quiet and peaceful vocation ; moving in an unobtrusive 
sphere, remote from the fields of activity on which the brilliant 
prizes of the world are fought for and won ; and yet, I conceive that 
every teacher, who is laboring faithfully, according to the measure 
of his ability and his opportunities, is helping to rear up what con- 
stitutes the true dignity and power of any State, — the " men, the 
high-minded men " who, in the well known words of the great Eng- 
lish Poet, are " fitted by a complete and generous education, to per- 
form justly, skillfully, and magnanimously, the great offices, both 
public and private, of peace and of war." The teacher need not 
complain, — his friends need not complain for him, — that the world 
yields his profession an inferior recompense, in comparison with other 
professions, in emolument, in influence, or in social estimation. He 
has not, indeed, any special passion above his fellow-mortals, for 
poverty and obscurity; and yet his services, if conceived and 
wrought out, after any just ideal, are not to be weighed in gold and 
silver, are ill recompensed by station or by fame. In this profession, 
as in that sacred one, to which it is so nearly allied, there must be, 
I think, with him who would work in it worthily and well, some- 
thinc of an inward call, the genuine vocatio interna ; he must be 
drawn to it by the instincts of his nature, and by the ruling forces of 
his character ; and he must find in himself, and in the exercise of his 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 175 

profession, his best and most honorable reward. To enter with a 
ready sympathy into the aspirations of his pupils, at a time when 
their minds are glowing with all the ardor of youth, — 

" Cum spes arrectae juvenum, exultantiaque hausit 
Corda pavor pulsans, laudumque immensa cupido,"- — 

and to give those tremulous aspirations a right direction ; to repress 
all evil impulses by a firm but kind control, and to give the fullest 
play to all impulses for good ; to stand with them on the thresh- 
hold of the world, where so many paths are opening out, all bright 
with the hues of hope, and to point the way only to those which 
lead to lasting distinction ; to watch over and aid the development of 
their powers, and to expand, invigorate and enrich them ; to seek to 
infuse into every study, every lesson, every exercise, a living sense 
of duty, and to make all student-life significant with that earnestness, 
which comes of the conviction of living" ever in "the great Taskmas- 
ter's eye ;" — in a word, to strive, by all the resources of good learn- 
ing, all the appliances of discipline and instruction, and by the 
influences of a good life, to build up in them a true Christian man- 
hood, — these things, and such as these, which enter into the aims 
and qualifications of a teacher, carry with them their own exceeding 
great reward. 

Some trials, certainly there are, Mr. President, which belong to 
the teacher's vocation ; trials which grow out of the wayward ten- 
dencies of youth, and of human nature, too, and as old as the oldest 
of us here, ay, as the oldest man and the oldest woman of the race. 
On these, however, I have no desire to dwell; suffice it to say, that, 
for my part, I know of no trials incident to the profession, which 
need ever awaken despondency, no difficulties that will not yield fo 
the ministry of patience, united with love and hope, and with faith 
in the power of truth and religion, and in the gracious blessing of 
God. But it were easy, and very pleasant, too, were the time 
allowed me, to turn you to the bright side of the teacher's life, — to 
bring out to view some of the glad things that go to cheer and bless 
his lot. And of these, perhaps, he counts among the chiefest, the 
friendships of his pupils, begun with them in those early, quiet days 
of studious youth, and carried forward into busy manhood, unbroken 
and unchanged amidst all the perplexing and fluctuating experiences 
of active life, — the testimonies of their grateful remembrance of 



176 



CENTENNIAL DINNEE. 



those by-gone years of instruction and study, which now and then 
come back to him across the ever-lengthening distance of time, and 
yield him an intense satisfaction. And what a delight is it to a 
teacher, what a rich encouragement, to see sons, of the institution 
which has been, for many years, the scene of his cherished labors, 
filling honorable positions in the world, and with the lapse of time, 
and the changes of life, loyal ever to the place of their early train- 
ing, true to the spirit of its education, and striving to implant in 
other minds the seeds of good learning, of virtue and of religion, 
which, in former years, were there implanted in their own ! These 
are the glad things, that can light up the darkest skies of a teacher's 
life ; these — to use the Words of a great English Master of our time 
— these are " the stars of nobleness, which are so cheering amid the 
darkness, that one is inclined to stick to the ship again, and have 
another good try at getting her about." 

Mr. President, you have asked me to speak, in illustration of the 
theme, of my own College instructors ; a glad task to one, whose 
fortune it has been, as mine, to have had teachers entitled to his 
lasting respect. I listened, sir, yesterday, with delight, as you car- 
ried us back to the past, and rehearsed the virtues and services of 
the early instructors of the College. But from those venerated 
forms, and the scenes in which they moved, as they rose up at your 
words before the imagination, I turned to forms and scenes familiar 
to my own experience. I thought of the chief of my own College 
days, the teacher of so many successive classes ; I thought, too, of 
the corps of instructors by whom he was surrounded ; and I rejoiced 
in the conviction that those men of the early days of the College, 
had had their worthy successors. It has been my fortune, to be 
associated as an instructor with those honored men, whom I had 
learned, as a pupil, to know and love, and gladly would I give utter- 
ance, here, to all my feelings towards them. And yet, I hardly 
know how I may utter in their presence, here, all that I have in my 
heart to say ; and, besides, they are too well known to you all, to 
need any words of mine to do them honor. All these instructors, 
with a single exception — long may it remain so — have now retired 
from the places which had known them so well, — two of them only 
within the last year. One only has passed away from the land of 
the living ; that accomplished man, who filled for so many years and 



CENTENNIAL DINNER. 177 

with such honor, the Chair of Belles Lettres : snatched away so 
suddenly, as we sadly remember, in the maturity of his years and 
fame, — those lips, whose elegant speech had touched nothing but to 
adorn, hushed in a moment to eternal silence ! Who of us shall for- 
get the genial wit and wisdom, and the scholarly grace of Goddard 
— that master of composition, in its theory .and its practice, who 
knew so well how to embody wi<e thoughts and just sentiments in a 
diction of equal vigor and beauty, like " apples of gold in pictures of 
silver !" The mantle of that departed teacher and scholar worthily 
fell upon him, my earliest College instructor, who has recently 
resigned his place, after a long and most efficient career of useful- 
ness as a Professor. He will be remembered, especially by the 
men of my class, as he entered upon his official career on the day 
when we entered College, and was our tutor during the first term 
in all our studies, and when we came to graduate, superintended, for 
the first time, the exercises at the church. He will be remembered, 
too, by the men of many classes, and by all the friends of the Uni- 
versity, for the interest he has always shown in everything pertain- 
ing to its welfare, and especially for the rare skill and taste, and 
marked success, with which he has given tone and character, for so 
many years, to the literary style of the College, as shown in its pub- 
lic exercises at our Exhibitions and Commencements. And let me 
not be silent of him, not with us here, to-day, now many years resi- 
dent in England, who was so long known here as Professor of 
Ancient Languages, or — to adopt, with Elton's name in mind, the 
Scotch style of this chair, — Professor of •' Humanity." We shall 
not forget — we seem to hear them now — those elegant lectures of his, 
in which he discoursed upon the great names of Greek and Roman 
letters ; still less shall we forget the uniform kindness and urbanity 
of manners, which characterized all his intercourse with his pupils. 
And would, sir, that I could speak, in fitting terms of gratitude and 
love, of our Professor of Mathematics, our teacher and never-failing 
friend ; identified for so many years with every thing pertaining to 
the welfare of the College ; so long its Senior Professor, — his face a 
perpetual benediction at our annual gatherings. We shall cherish 
him in memory, not merely for his attainments and services in sci- 
ence, known in this and other lands ; we shall remember and love 
him, because on all occasions he stood before us, the model of a 
23 



020 773 509 7 



178 CENTENNIAL DINNER, 

Christian gentleman. Many are the things I have in my heart to 
say of him, but my mind dwells upon this, which, perhaps, may sum 
up the whole, that to know him as a teacher, and to honor and love 
him as a man, makes, in itself, a truly liberal education. 

And what, sir, shall I say, what can I add to all that has been said, 
yesterday and to-day, of our President ; so venerated then as an 
instructor, yet more venerated during these many subsequent years, 
and now, most of all, when we know, better than ever, that we owe to 
him more than to any other man, the moulding intellectual influence, 
that has made us what we are ? Mine, indeed, it cannot be, to add 
a single leaf to the well earned laurels, that, ever fresh, adorn that 
honored brow ; but his name I count the crowning illustration of my 
theme, and, in closing, I may say a word of him as a teacher, — 
that relation, in which he is best known by all here present, best 
known throughout the country. Who, sir, of all the eminent in- 
structors of our land, has done so much as he, to. elevate our vocation, 
and to give it dignity and worth, and a fixed place as a profession ? 
Hundreds and thousands of teachers, if their voices could be heard 
here, to-day, would pronounce their grateful benedictions upon him, 
Avho has, with a luminous clearness, unfolded the principles which 
make education a science, and by long continued labors and example, 
has taught them how to employ it as an art. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



020 773 509 7 



Hollinger Corp. 

pH8.5 



